The Home Store: Downtown Dayton’s retail giant at Third and Main for 97 years

Beerman came to Dayton in 1930 and was given the job by Chester Adler, then head of the Johnston-Shelton Co.

Beerman only worked at the Home Store for one year before being transferred to work at the Adler and Child’s (popularly known as Adler’s) department store, which was owned by the same company.

This is the story of the longtime Dayton department store that gave retail legend Beerman his start.

The Home Store

In 1879 James DeWeese and C.D. Biddleman set up shop at 8 E. Third St. — on the southeast corner of Third and Main — under the name of DeWeese and Biddleman.

The business was incorporated in 1908. At that time, Russell Johnston and a brother-in-law, Harold Shelton, became associated.

Johnston and Shelton took control of the company in 1912, giving the business the name “Home Store.”

After the 1913 flood that caused destruction downtown, they purchased the business at 10 E Third St. and expanded the business.

M.L. Adler and a brother-in-law, A.M. Childs, assumed control of the Johnston and Shelton Co. and the Home Store in the fall of 1923. He retained ownership of the business until 1946 when a northern Ohio corporation, headed by Thomas J. Dolan and Jesse Phillips, bought controlling interests.

Major fire

A fire at the Home Store building on Feb. 14, 1926 was considered one of the biggest fires downtown Dayton had seen at the time.

The fire was difficult to fight and took all day to put out according the newspaper reports. The building burned to the ground and was a complete loss. There was slight damage at the American building next door as well.

Total losses in that fire, buildings and merchandise were estimated at $700,000.

Owner A.M. “Al” Childs didn’t hesitate to rebuild the store. In fact, he kept his idle employees on the payroll during the 10 months of rebuilding.

The new building opened in November of that same year.

Beerman purchases the Home Store

In 1956, Beerman purchased all assets of the Johnston-Shelton Co.’s Home Store. Beerman became president of the Johnston-Shelton Co. and renamed the downtown store “Beerman’s Home Store.”

The 77-year-old department store was sold for about $2.5 million, making it at the time one of the largest sales in Dayton department store history.

The buildings included in the deal were the five story building on East Third Street and the eight story building on South Main, which were basically joined together into one store. The store was L shaped, with entrances on both Main and Third streets.

At the time there were already nine “Beerman Stores.” The other stores were called “Beerman’s for Bargains”

In 1957 all the stores were renamed “Beerman’s Home Store.”

More name changes

In 1961, Arthur Beerman acquired a controlling interest in Elder & Johnston. On January 29, 1962, Beerman Stores and Elder & Johnston were merged, forming Elder-Beerman Stores.

Beerman closed the old Elder’s store in the Reibold Building at Fourth and Main Streets and consolidated downtown business in the Home Store location at Third and Main.

The name was changed to the Elder-Beerman Home Store and then just Elder-Beerman in 1961.

That store closed in 1976 when a new Courthouse Square store opened.

Most of the L-shaped Elder-Beerman Home Store building was razed in 1989 but parts were left as it shared a wall with the American Building (now known as the Conover Building) next door. Eventually the entire structure was safely removed without damaging the American/Conover building.