Images from Maine Historical Society
LeBaron Atherton, who came to the U.S. from Canada in 1897, turned the B. A. Atkinson & Co. furniture store in Lewiston from a failing proposition to a quite successful one. In 1900, he and several partners purchased the store.
The Lewiston store became the flagship for stores in Waterville, Bangor, Portland as well as Brockton, Worcester, Springfield, Pittsfield, and Haverhill, Massachusetts, and Kingston, New York.
As you look at these photos, consider the window displays, the items being sold, and the layout of the store. Think about what has changed in stores of this type, what might have appealed to buyers when these photos were taken, and what types of consumers these stores might have been trying to appeal to.
The chain ceased to operate in the 1980s.
