A Short History of the J.W. Anderson Company ...

George E. Anderson was an enterprising 17 year old when he became a stock boy at the P&F Corbin Company in NYC.  The Corbin Company continues to be an active name in the hardware industry.  Much like the founder of The Corbin Company, Philip P. Corbin, George Anderson started at the ground level working his way up to being a sales rep.  He remained with the company until 1925 when he and a chum, Russell Love embarked on a mission - they moved to Florida and started their own hardware business.

Russell and George, with families in tow landed in The Sunshine State and secured a small shop in a building at the corner of Okeechobee Blvd. and Dixie Hwy in West Palm Beach.  Anderson & Love sold door hardware for three years, until the depression settled in. They closed the doors there and headed north once again.  Back in New York, George was re-hired by Corbin to act as manager of one of their dealers (in Long Island) which was heavily indebted to the company.  He put his skills to work and in less than a year he turned the company around.  He remained there until about the third quarter of 1929, when he was offered a job back in West Palm Beach to act as manager of the door hardware department of Lanfranchi Ornamental Iron Works, a manufacturer of hand-crafted iron, steel and brass doors, windows railings, etc.  Nino Lanfranchi had previously conferred with George through Anderson-Love Hardware regarding the installation of hardware supplied on some of his custom gates and doors. George remained at Lanfranchi's until the end of June, 1935, when he resigned from his position to open his own business - George E. Anderson, Inc., which was located in the "Gardenia Building" at 423 South Olive Ave., in Downtown West Palm Beach.    By this time there was a new addition to the family, a son, James who would, one day gain the legacy of his father.   

The business remained in the Gardenia Building until 1955 when George was taken suddenly by Leukemia. He was known and remembered locally as "Mr. Hardware."  Following George's death, his widow Grace and son, Jim moved the business to new, larger quarters on Belvedere Road, just west of Dixie Hwy.  The operation remained at that address until Grace retired.  The business was then purchased by Jim and his wife Marie.  They renamed the business "J. W. Anderson Company”, which operated for 8 years on South Dixie (in the Flamingo district of WPB) and then moved to its current location, 605 S. Olive Ave. in West Palm Beach where it has remained since 1972.  For many years J.W. Anderson Company supplied material to large scale commercial projects. Some notable local jobs include Rosarian Academy, JFK Hospital and many high profile Palm Beach residences.  The business now focuses on residential projects, specializing in door & cabinet hardware and bathroom fixtures promoting Top Shelf lines such as THG, Watermark, Harrington Brass, Phylrich, Bouvet, Ashley Norton and the like.

Today, one of the oldest retail shops in West Palm Beach Anderson’s remains a family owned and operated business.  Jim ("J.W."), 57 years later, is still at the helm offering customers (and his children!) a wealth of knowledge on hardware details.  He handles inside sales, purchasing, and vendor relations.  Eldest daughter Rosemarie, who has keenly absorbed much of her father's knowledge of hardware, heads showroom sales and the constant renewal and beautification of the ever growing displays of new door and cabinet hardware lines and bathroom fixtures. Youngest son George handles technical hardware issues, outside sales and also manages shipping & receiving. Joy, the youngest, rounds up website development and assists wife, Marie in accounting.  "Mrs. A." has been a rock in the business since day one working alongside Jim and her children to grow the business.  On July 15th of this year , Jim and Marie celebrated 45 years in business together.