Perry-Norvell Shoe  Co.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For years, the Perry-Norvell shoemaking plant was one of Huntington’s busiest
employers. It had 350 workers, with 60% of them women. Ultimately,
 the plant’s annual revenue was in excess of $1.5 million.

Courtesy of David Smith

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Newberry-Clay Shoe Co., wholesale shoe merchants, was organized
in 1900 with Jeff Newberry as president and George B. Clay as vice
 president. The two partners established a shoe factory at 2nd
Avenue and 10th Street. Ten years later, Newberry retired
 and the company became the Norvell-Chambers Shoe Co.

The factory was divorced from the jobbing house and
was operated by the Mountain State Shoe Co.

In 1913, Mountain State Shoe was taken over by Walter E. Perry of
Cincinnati, who partnered with George W. Norvell to form the
Perry-Norvell Shoe Co. In 1920, a New York firm, the
 G.R. Kinney Co., acquired the Huntington company
and two years later moved it to a modern,
 fireproof structure at 25th Street
 and Guyan Avenue.

In 1928, the Norvell-Chambers Shoe Co. changed its name
 to Kipling Shoe Co, which survives. It operates retail
stores in Milton, Point Pleasant and Elkins.

Meanwhile, the Perry-Norvell shoemaking plant grew to become
 one of Huntington’s busiest employers. It had 350 workers,
with 60% of them women. Ultimately, the plant’s annual
revenue was in excess of $1.5 million. The Kinney
 Co. operated a nationwide chain of 350 shoe stores
where the shoes made in Huntington were sold.

Eventually, the shoe plant was closed. After that, its building
was occupied by Corbin Ltd., which used it to produce
its high-end clothing items. Today, the building is
 part of Rubberlite’s manufacturing complex.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Note:  This Article and picture appeared in the Herald-Dispatch Newspaper on Jan. 23, 2024.

-----------------------------------------------------------

[ Back ]