F.W. Woolworth Company

Retail company and one of the original pioneers of the five-and-dime store. Frank Winfield Woolworth opened "Woolworth's Great Five Cent Store" in Utica, New York, February 22, 1879. When that location ultimately failed, a new location was opened in Lancaster, PA, July 18, 1879. The store was successful, and became the model for future stores of its kind, even today. Woolworth was one of the largest retail chains in the world, until competition weakened sales in the late 1980s. The chain went out of business in July 1997.