• Spengler-Thomas Building (c. 1907), 129 S President St, Jackson, MS, USA
Jackson, MS (est. 1821, pop. 165,000)
• 2-story brick commercial building was originally Bowers Brothers Dry Goods, with a Masonic Lodge hall upstairs • Thomas Dry Goods Company, born in 1903 at the corner of Roach & Pearl Sts., relocated to this building at President & Pearl Sts. in 1917, bought the building in 1924 & occupied it until the mid-1990s
• company founder Sawaya Thomas (1880-1969) was born in Lebanon • in his 14th year, his mother decided to emigrate to Alexandria, Egypt • arriving by ship, the Thomases found the city shut down by a cholera epidemic • the vessel continued on its voyage to its final destination, New York City • disembarking at Ellis Island, Samaya informed his mother that he would not go back to Lebanon
• fortuitously, the Thomases had arrived in the U.S. during the pro-immigration presidency of Grover Cleveland who, upon vetoing a law intended to restrict immigration, stated:
"Heretofore we have welcomed all who came to us from other lands except those whose moral or physical conditions or history threatened danger to our national welfare and safety… we have encouraged those coming from foreign countries to cast their lot with us… A century's stupendous growth, largely due to the assimilation and thrift of millions of sturdy and patriotic adopted citizens, attests the success of this generous and free-handed policy..."
• a Lebanese-American customs officer, presumably speaking Arabic, helped the Thomases find a sponsor, facilitating a move into a basement in Brooklyn • in spite of speaking virtually no English, Samaya became a door-to-door salesman • two years later (1896), his mother now deceased, he took his earnings & 3rd grade education to Jackson, joining a distant relative who ran a small dry goods store —Clarion-Ledger (Jackson), 05 Aug 1984
• over the years the growing business added succeeding Thomas family generations • launched Norman Shirtmakers, a clothing manufacturer operating 3 plants • replaced the company's retail sales with wholesale distribution throughout the South • with sales doubling every 10 yrs., the company ultimately occupied seven downtown bldgs.
• in 1996, forced to downsize by increased competition from discount retailers, the entire S.N. Thomas' Sons complex went up for auction
• the Spengler Thomas Building was acquired by Canizaro Cawthon Davis Architects, 2000 • restoration completed, 2002, received an Award of Merit from the Mississippi Heritage Trust in 2002
• National Register 03000387, 2003
• Spengler-Thomas Building (c. 1907), 129 S President St, Jackson, MS, USA
Jackson, MS (est. 1821, pop. 165,000)
• 2-story brick commercial building was originally Bowers Brothers Dry Goods, with a Masonic Lodge hall upstairs • Thomas Dry Goods Company, born in 1903 at the corner of Roach & Pearl Sts., relocated to this building at President & Pearl Sts. in 1917, bought the building in 1924 & occupied it until the mid-1990s
• company founder Sawaya Thomas (1880-1969) was born in Lebanon • in his 14th year, his mother decided to emigrate to Alexandria, Egypt • arriving by ship, the Thomases found the city shut down by a cholera epidemic • the vessel continued on its voyage to its final destination, New York City • disembarking at Ellis Island, Samaya informed his mother that he would not go back to Lebanon
• fortuitously, the Thomases had arrived in the U.S. during the pro-immigration presidency of Grover Cleveland who, upon vetoing a law intended to restrict immigration, stated:
"Heretofore we have welcomed all who came to us from other lands except those whose moral or physical conditions or history threatened danger to our national welfare and safety… we have encouraged those coming from foreign countries to cast their lot with us… A century's stupendous growth, largely due to the assimilation and thrift of millions of sturdy and patriotic adopted citizens, attests the success of this generous and free-handed policy..."
• a Lebanese-American customs officer, presumably speaking Arabic, helped the Thomases find a sponsor, facilitating a move into a basement in Brooklyn • in spite of speaking virtually no English, Samaya became a door-to-door salesman • two years later (1896), his mother now deceased, he took his earnings & 3rd grade education to Jackson, joining a distant relative who ran a small dry goods store —Clarion-Ledger (Jackson), 05 Aug 1984
• over the years the growing business added succeeding Thomas family generations • launched Norman Shirtmakers, a clothing manufacturer operating 3 plants • replaced the company's retail sales with wholesale distribution throughout the South • with sales doubling every 10 yrs., the company ultimately occupied seven downtown bldgs.
• in 1996, forced to downsize by increased competition from discount retailers, the entire S.N. Thomas' Sons complex went up for auction
• the Spengler Thomas Building was acquired by Canizaro Cawthon Davis Architects, 2000 • restoration completed, 2002, received an Award of Merit from the Mississippi Heritage Trust in 2002
• National Register 03000387, 2003