Jacobsen’s Hardware
Main Street & Mill Street

Narrative

Opened in about 1890 by Dutch immigrant C.M. Jacobsen, Jacobsen’s Hardware was a central fixture at Main and Mill in early Lewisville, known for its large, warehouse-style building. John Whatley began working there in 1918 and eventually purchased it, continuing operations until the building’s 1942 demolition to make way for Kirkpatrick Garage, which later housed K&W Auto Supply.

Jacobsen’s Hardware

c1890 - Jacobsen’s opened at the southeast corner of Main and Highway 77

A 1966 newspaper report says the building was constructed in 1904
A photo dated by James Polser to about 1890 shows the store
C.M. Jacobsen moved to Denton County by 1884, married in 1888
Jacobsen is listed in the 1900 census as a hardware merchant

1916 - John Whatley moved to Lewisville
1918 - Whatley started working at Jacobsen Hardware
1919 - C.M. Jacobsen sold W.D. Milliken 220 acres in SE Denton County for $22,000
1926 - C.M. Jacobsen died
1927 - His son, P.L. Jacobsen, took over the store and opened a Denton store
1927 - Whatley bought an interest in and ran the Lewisville store
1929-1930 - newspaper ads refer to the McDowell-Jacobsen Co. in Lewisville and Denton
1932 - Whatley and Clyde Crawford bought the Lewisville store (McDowell-Jacobsen)

Jacobsen’s Hardware was opened around1890 by Dutch immigrant C.M., Jacobsen. The large warehouse-style building on the southeast corner of Main and Mill streets is prominent in downtown photos from the turn of the last century. John Whatley started working at Jacobsen's hardware store in 1918, and later purchased and renamed the sore. The building remained in place until 1942, when it was demolished to make way for Kirkpatrick Garage.

J.E. Whatley store

Owned by John E. Whatley
Three locations (two stores starting in 1951)
Sold groceries, meat, hardware, paint, appliances
c1890 - Jacobsen’s opened at the southeast corner of Main and Highway 77

A 1966 newspaper report says the building was constructed in 1904
A photo dated by James Polser to about 1890 shows the store
C.M. Jacobsen moved to Denton County by 1884, married in 1888
Jacobsen is listed in the 1900 census as a hardware merchant

1916 - John Whatley moved to Lewisville
1918 - Whatley started working at Jacobsen Hardware
1919 - C.M. Jacobsen sold W.D. Milliken 220 acres in SE Denton County for $22,000
1926 - C.M. Jacobsen died
1927 - His son, P.L. Jacobsen, took over the store and opened a Denton store
1927 - Whatley bought an interest in and ran the Lewisville store
1929-1930 - newspaper ads refer to the McDowell-Jacobsen Co. in Lewisville and Denton
1932 - Whatley and Clyde Crawford bought the Lewisville store (McDowell-Jacobsen)
1938 - Crawford died, Whatley bought his remaining interest
1942 - Whatley bought the W.W. Smith building, 150 W. Main, and moved the store

Southwest corner of Main and Poydras (current Karimi building)
Kirkpatrick Garage was built at the original location in 1942

1951 - opened a second store on Main Street for Sherwin-Williams paint

John E. Whatley had two stores in Lewisville during the 1950s. One was in the Smith Building on the southwest corner of Poydras and Main (opened in 1942), and the other was farther east on Main (opened in 1951 to sell Sherwin Williams paint). Whatley started working at Jacobsen's hardware store in 1918, bought partial interest in 1927 and full interest in 1938. The original store was located on the southeast corner of Main and Mill.

Kirkpatrick Garage

Owned by Horace Kirkpatrick
Located at the southeast corner of Main and Mill (120 S. Mill)
1942 - Kirkpatrick family moved to Lewisville, opens Kirkpatrick Garage

Horace, wife Betsy Lee, daughter Naomi, son Don

1947 - changes name to Kirkpatrick & Wilson
1966 - changes name to K&W Auto Supply
2016 - building purchased and demolished by the City

Built in 1942 by the Kirkpatrick family on the southeast corner of Main and Mill streets. Kirkpatrick Garage became Kirkpatrick & Wilson in 1947 and K&W Auto Supply in 1966. The vacant building had suffered severe structural and fire damage when it was purchased and demolished by the City in 2016. Main & Mill Apartments opened at that location in late 2023.

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