W.T. Grants

The company was founded in 1906 in Lynn, Massachusetts by William Thomas Grant (1876-1972). The chain store was a 25-cent store that was based in downtown city markets. The growth of the suburb led to the demise of the store, which closed in 1976 only four years after W. T. Grant's death. Additionally, it was not until the eve of its death that company decided to quit paying its shareholders dividend, which only accelerated the company's demise. The store came to Nashville sometime in the 1920s. During the 1960s Civil Rights Sit-ins the store refused to desegregate even after the Mayor of Nashville ordered stores to do so.