EDUCATORS ’ PERSPECTIVE
The J . C . Penney Company mother store , founded in 1902 . in 1914 moved the company headquarters to New York City . 4 Although the company was experiencing phenomenal growth and financial success , Penney was working himself to death . In early 1917 , at the advice of his doctor , Penney resigned as president of the company and became chairman of the board of directors .
With more time on his hands , Penney decided to indulge his passion for farming by buying a small farm north of New York City , which he named Whitehaven . His return to farming sparked an interest in agricultural philanthropy . This entailed purchasing 120,000 acres in northern Florida , where he began a cooperative farm community , an Institute of Applied Agriculture and a retirement village for pastors and other religious workers . Although well-intentioned , Penney ’ s philanthropic activities in Florida , along with an untimely investment in a Florida bank , would be his undoing in 1929 .
Although the J . C . Penney Company fared well during the Great Depression , Penney was plunged into a deep financial crisis that wiped out his entire $ 40 million fortune . In the next Educators ’ Perspective , we will take a closer look at Penney ’ s philanthropic activities before and after the financial crisis he endured during the 1930s .
Brian Grinder is a professor at Eastern Washington University and a member of Financial History ’ s editorial board . Dr . Dan Cooper is the president of Active Learning Technologies .
Notes
1 . Residents of Kemmerer pronounce it “ Kemmer .” Penney biographer David Kruger , in a lecture at the Flagler Museum in Palm Springs , Florida , said he was told by residences of Kemmerer that , “ We only stutter when we write it .”
2 . The Federal Reserve has never met in Kemmerer .
8 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Fall 2024 | www . MoAF . org