Image courtesy of Electric City News
The Bee Hive has been in Anderson since 1902. Founded by George Hamilton Bailes, better known as G. H. Bailes, the store was originally a small retail clothing business. Over time though, the store expanded to include more gift shop items. Early inventory included shoes of various animal hides and octagon-shaped soaps, a true testament to the progress granted by industrialization. The store was stocked with gifts for all sorts of occasions like weddings and Christmas. They sold fabrics and eventually antiques. The Bee Hive also served as a staging ground for local gossip, collecting women from all around town with the promise of neat trinkets and coffee. The store's success was so abundant that at one point, Bailes owned and operated two locations in downtown Anderson.
In 1922, Bailes moved one of the Bee Hives into "Granite Row", a building situated on 107 South Main St in downtown Anderson. By 1952, this location had grown substantially through extensive renovations Bailes had overseen to the building. The Granite Row Bee Hive was too small an operation to sustain the vision Bailes had and served as the foundation for his eventual department store, G.H. Bailes & Co.
The second Bee Hive, located on 510 Main St in downtown Anderson, continued on strong until 2002 when the owner died. The owner and operator at the time was the daughter of G. H. Bailes, Florence B. Johnson. Her operation of the store had been since the 70s at least. When she died, so did the Bee Hive.
However, the Hive buzzed back to life in 2018 with new owners taking command. Mother-daughter duo, Jacqueline Foster Ashley and Katie Beth Johnson, revitalized the Beehive as a gift shop and event space rather sweetly at the same 510 Main St location.
Citations -
Bibliography
Burris, Kay Willis. 2018. “What’s the Buzz? The Bee Hive Is Revived.” Electric City News. October 24, 2018. https:/
Bibliography
Burris, Kay Willis. 2018. “What’s the Buzz? The Bee Hive Is Revived.” Electric City News. October 24, 2018. https://tinyurl.com/bee-hive-revived.
“Frances Johnson Obituary (2002) - Anderson, SC - the Greenville News.” 2002. Legacy.com. February 27, 2002. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/greenvilleonline/name/frances-johnson-obituary?id=48945289.
Hardesty, Abe. 2016. “Bailes Stood Tall as Civic Leader, Marketing Guru of 20th Century.” Www.independentmail.com. April 2, 2016. https://tinyurl.com/bailes-leader.
The following object description information includes basic elements from the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI). An additional notes field is included to list dates from the actual letter, envelope postmark locations, and any other identifying details.
The Panic of 1907
The Panic of 1907 was a banking disaster responsible for the creation of the Federal Reserve. In October of 1907, the failed attempt to corner the stock of the United Copper Company resulted in depositors withdrawing their money from trust company banks en masse. Known business associates of the two minor speculators at the center of the crisis were met with runs that they could not afford. Many notable banks such as the Knickerbocker Trust Company closed and panic ensued. Shortly thereafter, the United States entered a brief but severe depression.
G.H. Bailes was not just some one-off mention in a letter; it was the financial backbone of Anderson.
George Hamilton Bailes, a Fort Mill native born December 18th, 1872, blew into Anderson on the heels of his second marriage. His second wife, Florence Funderburke Bailes, was herself an Anderson native, likely initiating the move to the area. By the time of her death in 1913, Bailes had already established himself as a whipsmart businessman and pillar in the Anderson community. He owned and operated two Bee Hive locations downtown, keeping his shelves stocked with inventory purchased at an extreme discount from closing stores. Rather famously, he held the Great Bailes Department Store Mule Auction after spying a pack of massive mules on his way home from a business trip. On instinct, Bailes bought 150 mules and sold them all at a hefty profit. This auction caused mule soars in the area to soar.
The most financial success Bailes saw was in his self-titled department store, G.H. Bailes & Co. and F.W. Woolworth in Granite Row. This location started off as a Bee Hive store, then slowly morphed into a whole four-floor department store complete with an escalator. The escalator, unsurprisingly, was a massive deal and draw when the store opened in 1952. Though mundane today, the store's escalator was the first in South Carolina.
Much like the Bee Hive, Bailes' department store acted as a community hub. Not only did the store stimulate the local economy, it also became a weekend event for many Anderson residents. Getting dressed up to go out shopping at Bailes was a social event that ingrained itself into many memories. When Bailes died in 1953, the store was passed on to his son, George Bailes Jr, who kept it in the family for another decade or so before ceasing operations after a fire.
The place where the department store resided eventually picked up the name 'Bailes Building', even after the closing of the store. The building saw use for another three decades as an election office in Anderson County. In February of 2016, the building was demolished. G.H. Bailes' legacy lives on, however. T.L. Hanna High School bestows a senior every year with a Bailes Ring, a notable achievement meant to acknowledge a student whose integrity was impressive. On top of that, many notable figures in Anderson such as Roy Ethridge, consider Bailes as a proverbial life-giver to the Anderson local economy.
Citations -
“Florence Bailes.” n.d. Geni . Accessed October 15, 2023. https://tinyurl.com/florence-bailes.