Bee Hive Store Then and Now

I wish I could remember where I saw it but an article was published a while ago about the Bee Hive store and the author couldn’t determine who had owned it in the beginning. While researching other businesses, I’ve run across tons of advertising for this store so I thought it would be fun to see if I could figure it out.

The building across from the Wright House, which had previously housed the Ford County Globe, had been sold by Morris Collar to A. H. Snyder in August of 1882. Snyder was in construction and mining, though, so I don’t believe he ever operated a dry goods store. I think he was just investing in real estate.

It doesn’t seem like the storefront was occupied for a while because the Presbyterian Church hosted a Christmas dinner there in 1883. And if it was related to the Presbyterian Church, you could bet my great-great-grandmother was involved!

1884 was a weird year for the Snyder building. In February, it was to house a saddlery and a furniture store. You’ll see the Dunn name at this location again later.

Dunn had moved into the furniture store spot by March 1 but then consolidated with McVeigh and Kirkpatrick to form Dunn and Kirkpatrick later in 1884. But then there was suddenly a new dry goods store without a name. None of the ads I found mentioned a business name or proprietors. I only found a quick note about a “party from Denver” and their “stock of notions” going in there.

There was a Roworth and Veatch in Pueblo, Colorado but I’m not sure if they had a presence in Denver. Henry Jabez Strange (from Colorado) and John James Summersby arrived in Dodge City in 1884 and in September, they bought the dry goods store of Roworth and Veatch.

Here is the first ad I was able to find for the Bee Hive:

The Bee Hive advertised everything from dress goods to dry goods to table linens to shoes. The 1884 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the Wright House at the northwest corner of Chestnut Street and Bridge/Second Avenue. That would place the Bee Hive across the street at what was then 723 Second Avenue.

In March of 1885, the Bee Hive was “comfortably quartered one door below their old stand.” It would have been simpler to just say the new location was on the ground floor. Fires were a constant problem in those days and it appears the store got an assist from the locals that December.

The Bee Hive moved to temporary quarters in the bank building while awaiting the completion of the brick Sitler Building on Bridge/Second Avenue. At this time, Bridge Avenue covered the area north to roughly Walnut Street and it was called Second Avenue further north. It really depended on the map, though. And people just called it whatever. The new home of the Bee Hive was on the east side of Bridge Avenue between Walnut (Gunsmoke) and Spruce Streets. On the 1887 Sanborn Map, the street number was 813 but today it would be the equivalent of 606 N Second Avenue.

The game of musical chairs continued and the Bee Hive moved again in August of 1886.

This time, they moved back to their old corner of Second and Chestnut after a new brick building was constructed. This article references a queensware shop to the north of the Bee Hive and the 1887 Sanborn Map shows one next to a dry good and clothing store at that location.

I also found an announcement about the O. K. Barbershop opening in the basement of the Bee Hive and the 1887 Sanborn Map shows a barbershop in the basement of that building, which had been renumbered 805 Second Avenue. There was also a bath house in the basement.

In March of 1887, the Bee Hive added dressmaking to their repertoire with Minnie Horn in charge of designing and cutting.

In August of 1887, Dr. O. H. Simpson moved his dental office into the front rooms above the Bee Hive.

In November of 1890, the Bee Hive was so busy Strange and Summersby were forced to hire additional staff to properly greet all of their customers. In February of 1891, the store was expanded into the north end of the building. The 1892 Sanborn Map shows dry goods and clothing in the south room and clothing in the north room as well as the businesses on the second floor.

In May of 1893, Strange and Summersby expanded again. A hole was cut in the ceiling to provide indoor stairway access to the upstairs room where the Phenix Industrial Club had previously been located.

My great-great-grandfather arrested two ill-mannered individuals who stole merchandise from the Bee Hive in April of 1894.

In October of 1896, Strange and Summersby announced their exit from the clothing business. It seems like they may have later reconsidered.

The Bee Hive was awarded a six-month contract to provide dry goods to the State Soldiers’ Home at Fort Dodge in December of 1897.

Is it just me or does a lighting system with *gasoline* running through it seem much more dangerous than electricity?

In December of 1902, Summersby sold his interest in the Bee Hive to George T Martin, who had managed the store for some time. Originally from Kentucky, Mr. Martin arrived in Dodge City in 1881 and worked for Wright and Beverly, then York, Parker, and Draper. The new firm’s name was Strange and Martin. George’s brother, John, moved with his family from Great Bend to work at the Bee Hive.

George Martin obtained full ownership of the Bee Hive in May of 1906. H. J. Strange had been in poor health for several years and he moved with his family to Denver, hoping the climate would aid in his recovery.

The 1911 Sanborn Map shows Second Avenue was renumbered and the Bee Hive went from 805-806 to 500-502 Second Avenue, which are the current numbers for that building.

In 1912, the Bee Hive had a telephone line installed and the store was assigned lucky number 13.

George Cochran bought the Bee Hive building in February of 1913 and announced plans to move the Mosher and Cochran Drug Store to that location once the Bee Hive’s lease expired…in four and a half years. He also planned to install a new front on the building to make it look more modern. When the reporter asked George Martin whether he had considered buying the building, he said he expected the Bee Hive to outgrow the space before the end of the lease term. By February of 1914, his prediction seemed pretty accurate.

Now this is fascinating. In July of 1914, the Bee Hive offered $1.10 for each silver dollar received. The Federal Reserve was created on December 23, 1913. Coincidence? I think not.

You may recall from previous posts that there are several buildings listed with incorrect dates of construction on the county website. This building is no exception; The county says it was built in 1915 but the Bee Hive had clearly occupied it since 1886 and was still there in 1916.

George Martin sold the Bee Hive to Frank Dunn of Garden City in December of 1916 with Dunn taking over the store January 1, 1917. Remember the Dunn furniture store back in 1884? Mr. Dunn immediately began remodeling the north room of the building. An automatic elevator was installed! The basement was finished and the storefront was modernized with plate glass. The most notable change, however, was the name. After more than 30 years, this was the end of the Bee Hive.

George Cochran made plans to move the Mosher and Cochran Drug Store into the south room of the building as soon as the Dunn’s space could be remodeled. I believe that was the last time the two sides of the building were occupied by one business. In addition, I have read that George Cochran tore down the Bee Hive building and put up a new one but it was only an assumption on the part of the author. The building was heavily remodeled with a new brick veneer but it appears to be the same structure. On the 1918 Sanborn Map, you can see the drug store on the corner of Second and Chestnut with the dry goods store just to the north.

In this post card, you can see the WWI memorial that was on Second Avenue as well as the Mosher and Cochran Drug Store on the northeast corner.

By 1928, Dunn’s Dry Goods had moved to 308 W Chestnut and the space at 502 Second Avenue became home to Levinson’s Ladies Ready-to-Wear.

By 1947, Burke’s Shoes was listed at 502 Second Avenue and they were there for-EVER. Literally! Or at least until 1994-ish. In this postcard, you can just barely make out the Burke’s sign on the right.

502 N Second Avenue is now home to Dulceria La Chiquita.

Mosher & Cochran stayed on that corner until about 1965, although Charles Ashley Mosher died in November of 1949 and George Daniel Cochran in October of 1960. Brown’s Shoe Fit opened in 1965 at the corner of Second Avenue and Wyatt Earp Boulevard and stayed there until 1997, when the business moved to Comanche Plaza. Since then, the corner has housed Trails West, Flowers by Irene, and now Yogi’s Vape Shop.

Here are some photos I took around Christmas last year:

I had never heard of the Bee Hive until I started looking through old newspapers for completely unrelated stories. It’s fun to see how journalism and advertising have evolved over the past 130-plus years. We tend to assume the sales and reporting techniques we’re so familiar with now are much more modern than they actually are.

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