Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce, People

Location

36 Elm St, Warsaw, NY 14569, USA

Lat/Long

42.744192, -78.130787

Grant Recipient

Warsaw Historical Society and The Gates House Museum

Harold E. Hovey was born in the village of Warsaw in Wyoming County, New York in 1881 and lived on Elm Street in the village. Hovey would go on to establish the Market Basket Corporation, a successful Western New York grocery store chain.

Hovey opened his first grocery store on North Main Street in Warsaw in 1901. By 1915, he had opened a second store in Geneva, New York under the Market Basket name. When he incorporated his company in 1923, he had 36 stores located throughout Western New York. By the time the chain was celebrating its 50th anniversary in 1951, it was reported there were 141 stores in operation (Perry Record, October 11, 1951, page 10).

Hovey worked nearly up to the day he passed away on November 2, 1953. Immediately after this, his son Gordon Hovey succeeded his father as president of the Market Basket Corporation and around 1956, the chain was sold to American Stores.