Illinois: C.D. Peacock Jewelry Store

Founded: 1837

Location: Chicago

C.D. Peacock survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and now operates numerous stores around the city.

Descended through three generations of English jewelers, Elijah Peacock founded the jewelry and watch repair store The House of Peacock in 1837, the same year Chicago (population 4,000) was incorporated as a city. The first retail jewelry establishment opened its doors on February 9, 1837, marking the city’s passing “from semi-savage conditions to civilization and refinement,” according to one historian. Elijah’s son Charles (C.D.), was born the following year, in 1838. With C.D. at the helm, the jewelery store survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 and changed its name. Today, it now operates numerous stores around the city. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Links For Further Reading

To learn more about the history of the C.D. Peacock Jewelery empire, visit the following links:

The Official C.D. Peacock Website – The History of C.D. Peacock

The Oldest Businesses In Every U.S. State

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