PAUL JONES & CO., Louisville, KY. (1887-1922)

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PAUL JONES & CO.
Louisville, KY.
1887-1922
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Paul Jones began making whiskey in Georgia in 1865. In 1866 he moved to Louisville and acquired Four Roses, among other brands.

In 1889, Jones purchased the J G Mattingly & Bro. distillery (RD #2, 5th District) in Louisville for $125,000 at public auction. It ran as J G Mattingly Co., with Jones as President, until the plant was sold to the Trust in 1902.

In 1922, Paul Jones & Co. bought out Frankfort Distillery Inc. The latter controlled a distillery in Frankfort but, more importantly, was one of the few companies granted a permit to sell liquor for medicinal purposes during Prohibition. Paul Jones & Co. now assumed the Frankfort Distilleries Inc. name to retain the valuable medicinal sales license.

By 1928, stocks of pre-Prohibition whiskey had dwindled and the company contracted the Louisville-based A Ph. Stizel distillery to supply them with spirits.

When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Frankfort Distilleries Inc. took over the old Stitzel plant and built a new one (Four Roses) in Shively. By the late 1940's, the distilleries and brands had been taken over by Seagrams.

The company used the brand names:
"Four Roses", "Frankfort Rye", "Jones Four Star", "Old Cabinet", "Old Cabinet Rye", "Red Star Gin", "Small Grain", "Swastika", and "West End."

Business name timeline:
Paul Jones (1887-1893), Paul Jones & Co. (1894-1919)

Address timeline:
136-140 E Main (1887-1909), 118-120 E Main (1909-1919)

Business category timeline (abbreviations decoded below):
W

Years that company appeared in directories
Years directories were consulted
Louisville directory notes

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BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!
BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!	BUY ME!

Appearance in directories:
1887, 1888, 1889, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1897, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919

Directories consulted:
1866, 1867, 1869, 1870, 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890, 1891, 1892, 1893, 1894, 1895, 1897, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919

Louisville directory notes:
W = Wines & Liquors, I = Importers, D = Distillers, R = Rectifiers, DA = Distiller's Agents, B = Brokers (1892), S = Saloons (1905), M = Mail Order House (1915). Listings for wholesalers from 1866 to 1869 and for distillers 1866 through to 1906 were compiled from a typescript prepared by Norma Snyder. 1887 and 1889 wholesaler listings are partial, missing last names in the alphabet, 1890, 1895 missing their entirety. No copies of listings in any category for 1896, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901. 1888 has a partial list of Importers (not found in copies for other years). 1905 copies include Saloons (not incorporated). 1906 is incomplete for distillers, missing wholesalers.

1881 witnessed a major city-wide street reorganization so all addresses change. In 1909, there is a second renumbering and this year shows both old and the new number in brackets.

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