Omaha Exploration

One year after the city was founded in 1854, Omaha’s oldest business opened its doors. That business, Johnson Hardware, remains open more than 172 years later.

The company that would become Johnson Hardware started with Frederick A. Schneider. The son of German immigrants, Schneider was born in Canton, Ohio and arrived in Omaha City in 1855. The founders added “city” to the name to make it seem better established than it was.

That same year he opened a general store at 213 Farnam Street in an area along the western banks of the river that would grow to become Jobbers Canyon. In order to advertise his business, he paid to have a massive zinc sign shaped like an ax created in St. Louis and shipped to Omaha via steamboat.

Schneider’s store sold the essentials to wagon trains headed west. Among the items were food, clothing, hardware, gold pans, scales, oxbows, nails, and sundries. His early customers were a who’s who of the city’s founders. By 1884, the Schneider family packed up and headed west themselves, settling on an acreage in California.

A Civil War veteran, David H. Bowman, was the next owner of Schneider’s general store. A native of Pennsylvania, he suffered wounds including being shot in the eye during the Battle of the Wilderness. Unable to serve, he moved to Omaha in 1866 and worked as a clerk for Schneider until he moved. With the emergence of the massive warehouses that made up Jobbers Canyon, Bowman moved the store further west to 1217 Farnam Street. He moved the familiar zinc sign to the new location and hung it above the entrance. His time operating the store was a footnote, as he died in 1894 at 51 years old.

After purchasing the general store, its name was changed to the one we recognize today: Johnson Hardware. The business was incorporated by four men: H.M. Johnson, C.W. Johnson, E.G. Wilmoth, and Lucien Pettengill Sr. Despite it being named Johnson, Pettengill, a native of Indiana, played a pivotal role while serving as its president for decades. During his tenure, he repainted the ax sign to display its new name.

That famous zinc sign fell to the ground during a winter storm in 1935 when a heavy sign above it was pried loose in strong winds. Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident. The Omaha World-Herald said of the Johnson Hardware sign that it had “swung somewhat like a sword of Damocles, over the head of passersby for 80 years.” Described as the oldest sign in Omaha, it was restored and hung in its rightful spot above the door.

By 1942, Lucien Pettengill Jr. had taken over his father’s business and relocated it for the third time, just a few doors east to 1211-1213 Farnam Street. The three-story Menagh Building offered more space to grow than the previous location. By this time it was one of Omaha’s largest wholesale and retail hardware stores.

When Lucien Jr. passed away, the business remained in the hands of the Pettengill family as his son, William, assumed ownership. The company moved a fourth time in 1977 when the city forced its hand. The building was razed to make way for the redevelopment of downtown Omaha that included Central Park Mall and the Peter Kiewit Conference Center. William remained committed to downtown and opted to move a bit further south to 1201 Pacific Street, which he considered to be the only suitable site. During the move, there were rumors that cannonballs were discovered, as reported in the Omaha World-Herald. The third-generation owner remained at the helm until 1980.

86 years of Pettengill control came to an end in 1980 when William sold the company to John B. Watkins IV and Wayne W. Meier. While Pettengill remained on as vice president, Watkins served as its chairman and Meier as its president. Both were Nebraska natives, with Watkins hailing from Omaha before moving out of state as a real estate developer. Meier was born in West Point and previously worked for Western Printing Company. Leland Johnson, a longtime employee, was named executive vice president. Johnson had no relation to the men the company is named for.

Leland bought the company with a group of investors in 1986. When he retired in 1992, he sold it to another longtime employee, William J. Stock, who started at the company as a teenager in the late 1970s.

The company continued to evolve with the times. It had grown from a general hardware company to one that supplied doors and door hardware to contractors. It leaned further into that focus with the acquisition of Grabow Hardware in 2011, a company that was primarily a supplier of trim, doors, door and cabinet hardware, and bathroom accessories. The acquisition brought its first west Omaha location along with a large showroom at 13817 Industrial Road.

Despite having five distinct divisions, doors and hardware made up the bulk of its revenue. It even operated a separate building where it manufactured door frames and customized doors. By that time, the company had grown from 29 employees in 1980 to 70, in addition to operating a national wholesale service division.

Johnson Hardware proudly identifies itself as Omaha’s oldest company. Proof of that can be found in the old zinc sign said to hang in the office of a former owner and the leather-bound ledgers from the early 1860s that it retains. It should be pointed out that both N.P. Dodge and Weitz Company date back to 1855, though both were founded in Iowa before moving to Omaha.

To this day, the company maintains its headquarters downtown at 12th and Pacific, in addition to the showroom out west and locations in Lincoln and Grand Island, Nebraska; Dodge Center, Minnesota; and Des Moines, Iowa.

The company founded by F.A. Schneider, a pioneer born nearly 200 years ago, predates Jobbers Canyon. Not only that, but its earliest customers also included the Kountzes, Dodges, Farnams, and Creightons. These are names that can be found throughout the city on everything from neighborhoods and parks to streets, buildings, and universities. More than 170 years later, Johnson Hardware still calls Omaha home.

Read OE on Grow Omaha: Local History by Omaha Exploration | Grow Omaha

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Sources

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• Johnson Hardware Co | Supply and Installation | Omaha, NE
• https://jhcomahashowroom.com/about/
• Frederick A Schneider (1832-1915) – Find a Grave Memorial
• David Henry Bowman Sr. (1842-1894) – Find a Grave Memorial
• Lucien Pettengill Sr. (1864-1942) – Find a Grave Memorial
• Lucien Pettengill Jr. (1893-1964) – Find a Grave Memorial
• William A. Pettengill (1920-1987) – Find a Grave Memorial
• The Excelsior, Hardware and the Hurfords, Oct 30, 1909.
• Omaha Daily News, Historic Old Omaha Houses, Feb 22, 1914.
• Built to Last: Inside Omaha’s Oldest Running Businesses – Omaha Magazine
• Johnson Hardware Co. – Omaha Magazine