Since opening in 1856, Briggs Hardware has been supplying Raleigh consumers + companies with items that have changed with the times — from wrenches and plungers to adding a general store with Bloody Mary mixes and country ham.
The hardware company is most famously known for its former location on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh, where they built Raleigh’s first skyscraper in 1872. This building held the title as the tallest building in Raleigh for 33 years.
When the store became known as Briggs and Sons in 1875, they advertised their store as the “purveyors of hardware, cutlery, house furnishing goods, wagon and buggy material, cook Stoves, leads, oils, colors, and glass in Raleigh”.
Rumor has it…
Thomas Briggs, the founder of the store, was able to build this four-story “skyscraper” after the Civil War because he converted his confederate money to gold and silver + buried it underground to hide it from Union troops when they came to town. After they left, he dug it back up and used the money to fund construction of the new building.
When Briggs Hardware moved out of the downtown building in 1995 to 2533 Atlantic Avenue, their historic building eventually became home to the City of Raleigh Museum, which continues to preserve the building’s history under their fearless leader Ernest Dollar.
As big name hardware stores began popping up across NC + the economy took a downturn, Briggs Hardware was forced to close up shop in July of 2015 after 150 years of business. But their disappearance was short-lived when a 6th generation Briggs family member re-opened Briggs Hardware at 111 East Hargett Street. The store is still operating — selling supplies like toilet paper and hand sanitizer, as well as hardware, even in the midst of the pandemic — and continues to serve Raleigh a few blocks away from their original location in downtown Raleigh.
To celebrate this business and their relationship with our city, #shoplocal next time you are doing your own handiwork.
