
World War I resulted in significant demand for military footwear. The company became known for quality shoes at low to moderate prices. Jackson Johnson remained chairman until he died in 1929. Jackson Johnson became president of International Shoe Company, succeeded in 1915 by his brother Oscar, who died in 1916. Washington Avenue became known as "Shoe Street U.S.A." because it "claimed more shoe trade than any other street in the world". Peters Shoe remained in its own building, with Weatherbird Shoes on display, until 1930, when the company moved into what had become the International Shoe Building. The two largest shoe companies in the city, Roberts, Johnson & Rand and Peters Shoe Company, merged in 1911 to form International Shoe Company, but each company kept its own identity. Peters Shoe Company had continued significant growth, and its products sold all over the United States and even in Mexico and Europe. Louis had moved from ninth to third in the country in shoe production. A headquarters building went up at 15th Street and Washington in 1909. Frank Rand, a graduate of Vanderbilt University, became a stock clerk and advanced to become vice-president. Louis to start Roberts, Johnson & Rand Shoe Company. In 1898, the Johnsons sold their company and moved to St. Rand, moved from Mississippi to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1892 and started the Johnson, Carruthers & Rand Shoe Company. īrothers Jack and Oscar Johnson, and their cousin Frank C. Taylor designed the eight-story headquarters built in 1901 at 13th Street and Washington, which was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. Peters Shoe Company started with $200,000 in capital and almost doubled in size in its first decade, requiring a move from 7th Street and Washington Avenue to a larger building at 11th Street and Washington. Peters became president and then left in 1891 to form his own company, Peters Shoe Company, with help from relatives. As Peters moved up in the company, the city's production of shoes increased from a half-million in 1883 to nine times that, and Claflin, Allen & Company was one of the largest shoe makers. Louis, Missouri had wholesale distributors of shoes rather than manufacturers. Peters went to work for Claflin, Allen & Company, at a time when St. Washington.Īt age 16 in the 1870s, Henry W. For the Supreme Court ruling on personal jurisdiction, see International Shoe Co.
