The Woolworth Company, the pioneer of “five-and-dime” stores worldwide, started in 1879 and, for more than 100 years, would remain a mainstay for value shoppers and diners in thousands of buildings.

After difficulties with the landlord, the Harrisburg store moved to York, Pennsylvania, in March 1880. However, it closed just three months later. Frank then searched for a larger, low-rent building and found an ideal location in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he opened the “5¢ & 10¢ Woolworth Bro’s Store” on November 6, 1880, with his brother as manager. Charles Woolworth fully developed the store’s merchandising mode, spending a lot of time working on the sales floor and talking with customers and employees. By 1881, the store had become successful enough that Charles bought out Frank’s share of the Scranton store, making him the first Woolworth Bro’s franchisee.

Over the next 20 years, Frank invited relatives and co-workers to join him, establishing a syndicate of five “friendly rivals.” The chains operated independently but carried his goods. The formula proved popular, allowing each partner to expand rapidly.

While Frank was expanding with more stores, his brother Charles’ approach was perfecting the look and feel of his Scranton store. The brightly lit store had mahogany counters with glass dividers and glass-fronted showcases and a wooden floor that was polished to a lustrous shine. Frank soon adopted the layout for his F. W. Woolworth stores, which became the standard as the two brothers persuaded their partners to adopt the changes.

By the end of 1904, there were 120 stores in 21 states extending westward as far as Colorado. The following year, the company was incorporated as F.W. Woolworth & Co. to serve Great Britain and Ireland.

As Frank approached his 60th birthday, he started to think about his legacy and determined to build New York City’s tallest skyscraper. He started buying up properties in 1910 and began to build. He bankrolled the $13 million project from his own pocket.

In the meantime, Woolworth merged with four American retail chains to form a single national corporation in November 1911. These retailers were Seymour Horace Knox (Woolworth’s first cousin), with 108 5¢ & 10¢ stores; Fred Morgan Kirby, with 84; Charles Sumner Woolworth (Frank’s brother), with 14; and Earle Perry Charlton, with 48. At that time, Frank had 319 stores, making the total stores after the deal was signed 596 stores coast to coast in 1912.

Work was completed on the Woolworth building in 1913, and the company’s headquarters were moved. It was the tallest skyscraper in the world at the time and remained so until 1930.

In 1917, Woolworth opened its thousandth store in palatial premises on New York’s Fifth Avenue. The same year, President Woodrow Wilson invited Frank Woolworth to take a Government role to raise funds after America joined World War I. Frank complied by launching a savings stamp scheme just weeks later, persuading rival dimestores to join him in selling them. He later funded victory parades for returning servicemen from his pocket in many towns served by a Woolworth Five and Ten.

The final years of Frank Woolworth’s life were filled with sadness. His wife, Jennie, fell ill with early-onset Alzheimer’s. His eldest daughter, Edna, died in May 1917 of an ear infection at the age of 33. However, rumor persisted that she committed suicide by poison in despair over her husband’s philandering, especially as the coroner decided that no autopsy was necessary. Her daughter, Barbara, later dubbed the “poor little rich girl,” made the gruesome discovery, which was said to have haunted her for the rest of her life.

After 40 years of leading the business, Frank Woolworth died on April 8, 1919, in Glen Cove, New York, due to poor health. As he got older, Woolworth suffered violent mood swings and was often bedridden for weeks on end. He was found dead from septic poisoning due to an untreated tooth infection three days after he left work, complaining of a headache. His death came as a great shock across the retail world. He was 66 and had been preparing for the 40th-anniversary celebrations of his 1,200-strong chain.

The stores eventually incorporated lunch counters that served as general gathering places, a precursor to the modern shopping mall food court.

The Woolworth’s concept was widely copied, and 5¢ & 10¢ stores, also called dimestores, became a 20th-century fixture in American downtowns. They often anchored suburban shopping plazas and shopping malls in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

On February 1, 1960, the Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, became the setting of an African American sit-in during the Civil Rights Movement. On that date, four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University started the Greensboro sit-ins at the “whites only” lunch counter at the Woolworth’s store. A few minutes before, the men, also known as the A&T Four, had bought toothpaste and other products at the desegregated counter. However, once they sat down at the segregated counter, they were refused service when they asked for a cup of coffee. The store policy forbade service of black men at the “whites only” counter. The men then stayed at the counter until closing to protest the inequality.

This touched off six months of sit-ins and economic boycotts that became a landmark event in the civil rights movement. By February 4, 300 people were protesting and expanding their protest to a nearby Kress store. Students protested in cities across the south, including Nashville, Tennessee; Durham, South Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; and Lexington, Kentucky. Months went by, and students began to boycott the stores. Then, on Monday, July 25, 1960, Greensboro, North Carolina Store Manager Clarence Harris finally asked three black employees to remove their work uniforms, sit at the counter, and order a meal. This was after he lost nearly $200,000 in sales.

In 1979, on Woolworth’s 100th anniversary, it became the largest department store chain in the world.

Europe’s largest F. W. Woolworth store, in Manchester, England, one of two in the city center, experienced a fire in May 1979. Despite the store being rebuilt even larger and up to the latest fire codes, the negative stories in the press, coupled with the loss of lives, sealed its fate; it finally closed in 1986.

By 1982, the company had more than 8,000 stores and was one of the largest retail chains in the world. However, it faced increased competition from the Kmart Corporation and other discount retailers. These pressures compelled Woolworths to rely increasingly on its Foot Locker, Kinney Shoes, and other specialty stores, and its discount stores began to decline.

The growth and expansion of the company contributed to its downfall. The Woolworths Company moved away from its five-and-dime roots and focused less on its department store chain as it focused on its specialty stores. Still, the company could not compete with other chains that had eroded its market share. While it was a success in Canada, the Woolco chain closed in the United States in 1983.

In 1993, an eight-foot section of the lunch counter was moved from the Greensboro, North Carolina store to the Smithsonian Institution. In February 2010, the old Woolworth store was opened as a Civil Rights museum on the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the sit-ins.

On October 15, 1993, Woolworths embarked on a restructuring plan that included closing half its 800-plus general merchandise stores in the United States and converting its Canadian stores to a closeout division named The Bargain! Shop in the hope of gaining profits.

Woolco and Woolworth survived in Canada until 1994 when the majority of the Woolco stores there were sold to Wal-Mart. The Woolco stores that Walmart did not purchase were converted to The Bargain! Shop, sold to Zellers, or shut down.

On January 30, 1997, the company acquired the mail-order catalog athletic retailer Eastbay. On July 17, 1997, Woolworths closed its remaining department stores in the United States and changed its corporate name to Venator in 1998. In 1999, Venator sold and moved out of the Woolworth Building in New York City to offices on 34th Street. The old Woolworth building survives today, continuing to display its grandeur and symmetry.

By 2001, the company focused exclusively on the sporting goods market, changing its name to the present Foot Locker, Inc., and relaunched the Woolworth brand as an online company.

The Woolworths stores in the United Kingdom continued to operate until 2009. Retail chains using the Woolworths name survive in Austria, Germany, and Mexico.

Even though the company went under in the 1990s, Woolworth’s lunch counters are still alive. One such place is the Woolworth Walk in Asheville, North Carolina. Inside the original F.W. Woolworth building are an Art Gallery, a Crafts Emporium, and a soda fountain with old-time favorites. The original store was established in 1938; in 2001, it was restored to showcase a piece of the past.

Another Woolworth Luncheonette is in Bakersfield, California. The Five & Dime Antique Mall features the last Woolworth lunch counter of its kind. On the ground-floor level of the four-story building, the fully functioning former Woolworth luncheonette counter has 22 counter seats, Formica tables ringing the room, and an open kitchen for griddling burgers and making milkshakes. The menu is simple, with burgers and chili dogs with sides including fries, baked beans, macaroni, and potato salad. The workers, dressed in black and white outfits, also serve milkshakes, root beer floats, and sodas. This is the last Woolworth luncheonette counter in America.

In Greensboro, North Carolina, the original Woolworth’s building has been rehabilitated and turned into the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. It commemorates the A&T Four and their role in launching the sit-in movement that inspired peaceful direct-action demonstrations nationwide. The seats and counter remain in the building in their original footprint, and the museum includes exhibits and videos about the A&T Four and the greater American Civil Rights Movement.