Throwback Thursday: Do You Remember...?

ENFIELD, CT - In this weekly series, Enfield Patch publishes a photo of a business or landmark in town that is no longer in existence.

Today's photo dates back to the 1940s, when Thompsonville was a thriving community featuring numerous small locally-owned businesses, as well as a few national companies.

Most people remember JC Penney as being one of the original anchor stores in the Enfield Square shopping mall, but few remember when it had a much smaller storefront on North Main Street, adjacent to the Strand Theater and the old Enfield High School

The first JC Penney store opened in Wyoming in 1902, and the business quickly grew: by 1917, there were 175 stores; in 1928, there were a thousand; and in 1941, there were 1,600 across all 48 states.

Sam Walton, who founded the Wal-Mart chain in 1962, began his career working at a JC Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa in 1940.

At its peak in 1973, JC Penney had 2,053 stores. Locally, a large store operated abutting center court in the Enfield Square for more than 30 years.

Enfield Patch invites readers to share their memories of this business in the comments section below.

Do you have a photo of a former Enfield business or landmark? Email it to tim.jensen@patch.com and we’ll feature it in an upcoming column.

Photo credit: Enfield Historical Society