| 1912 - J. E. Haywood, Inc. |
| One of the oldest businesses in Rockingham (1984) is J.E. Haywood, Inc. J. E. Haywood began the business in September, 1912, when he opened a small grocery store on South Lee Street across from what is now the R.W. Goodman Company.He soon expanded the business by adding five-and-ten-cent-store merchandise and by operating a "pressing club" laundry. After World War I, Mr. Haywood ceased to operate the laundry but continued to expand the merchandise business. He added a complete line of toys including dolls and Lionel trains and he was the first and only merchant in Richmond County to sell fireworks. Before long, he began marketing an item for which he became well known - Haywood's Peanuts. In the late twenties, he put his first truck on the road and began the transition from retail merchant to wholesaler. In 1913, Mr. Haywood moved the location of his business from South Lee Street to a location on US Highway 1 South. Later, the company moved its operation from Highway 1 to the Company Warehouse on Haywood Street. |
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