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126:(June 23, 1867 – December 9, 1932) was an American businessman, best known as the cofounder and head of the furniture wholesaler, Sterchi Brothers Furniture Company. At its height, Sterchi Brothers was the world's largest furniture store chain, with sixty-five stores across the southeastern United States and a worldwide customer base. In 1946, the company became the first
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in 1921, and in turn sold the park to
Knoxville in 1926, giving the city its first major public park. In 1959, Sterchi's widow, Bertha, donated land for a school, now known as Sterchi Elementary, in northern Knoxville. Sterchi Brothers's two surviving buildings on Gay Street, Sterchi Lofts and the
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By 1920, Sterchi
Brothers had expanded to 18 stores around the southeast region. Sterchi eventually acquired his brothers' shares, and continued expanding the company. After the company incorporated, Sterchi was named chairman. In 1929, Sterchi Brothers was the largest furniture chain in world, with
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As a teenager, James
Sterchi worked as a clerk for the glassware firm, Cullen and Newman. In 1888, he and his brothers, John Calvin (J. C.) Sterchi (1864-1955) and William Henry (W. H.) Sterchi (1862-1929), founded the Sterchi Brothers Furniture Company, with just $ 800 in initial capital. The
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In 1911, Sterchi's brother, John (who had cofounded
Sterchi Brothers), formed a new furniture company with his son-in-law, John O. Fowler, called Sterchi and Fowler Furniture. This company, incorporated as Fowler Brothers in 1930, currently operates as the Furniture Shoppe and the Patio Shop in
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The
Sterchi Brothers warehouse, initially located on Gay Street's 300-block, burned along with several other buildings in the so-called "Million Dollar Fire" on April 7, 1897. The company then built a new warehouse, known as "The Emporium," which still stands on Gay Street's 100-block. Author
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Sterchi expanded his grandfather's farm, Bellefontaine, from 371 acres (150 ha) to over 1,400 acres (570 ha), and converted it into a full-scale dairy farm. In 1910, Sterchi built a new home at
Bellefontaine, known as Stratford, or Sterchi Mansion. The
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company found a thriving market among
Knoxville's growing middle and working classes, and began to expand. In 1896, Sterchi Brothers bought out furniture catalogue wholesaler King, Oates and Company, giving them access to a regional market.
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immigrant
Francois Henri Sterchi (1797-1883) and grandmother, Jeanne Susanne Wilhelmine (Giroud) Sterchi (1817 - 1874). Francois Sterchi had been a commissioner and archivist for the Canton of
134:. The company's ten-story headquarters, now called Sterchi Lofts, stands prominently along Knoxville's skyline, and Sterchi's home in northern Knoxville, Stratford Mansion, is listed on the
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48 stores, five manufacturing plants, and forest land in
Kentucky with which the company supplied lumber for its operations. The company exported to places as far away as
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immigrant
Francois Sterchi, in 1867 to Jean Louis Auguste (1838-1914) and Parthena (Tunnell) (1845-1919) Sterchi on his grandparents' farm. Sterchi's grandfather,
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Emporium, have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as contributing properties within the Southern Terminal and Warehouse Historic District.
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Dr. Sally H. Robertson (1st Cousin, 3x removed to James Gilbert Sterchi). Records on Ancestry.com (census, etc.,). Retrieved: 08 December 2022.
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Ann Bennett and Pamela Dishongh, National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form for Stratford (Sterchi Mansion), 23 March 2009.
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James Gilbert Sterchi (pronounced STUR-kee) was born on the farm of his grandfather,
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by sponsoring regional musicians and local radio programs in hopes of boosting
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During the 1920s, Sterchi Brothers played a role in the early development of
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Historic and Architectural Resources in Knoxville and Knox County, Tennessee
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436:(Knoxville, Tenn.: University of Tennessee Press, 1977), pp. 32, 49.
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372:(Knoxville, TN: East Tennessee Historical Society, 1976), p. 609.
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sales at its furniture stores. Like fellow Knoxville businessman
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apartment building called "Sterchi Lofts," was built in 1921.
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Sterchi Lofts, the former headquarters of Sterchi Brothers
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Tennessee String: The Story of Country Music in Tennessee
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Heart of the Valley: A History of Knoxville, Tennessee
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407:(New York: McDowell, Obolensky, 1957), p. 15.
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321:References
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272:R. F. Graf
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240:phonograph
202:James Agee
177:Gay Street
147:Early life
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220:Argentina
142:Biography
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63:Died
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