HISTORY NEBRASKA MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG3442.AM: Rudge and Guenzel Department Store (Lincoln, Neb.)
Records: 1904-1942; mostly 1914-1942
Lincoln, Lancaster County, Neb.: Department store
Size: 22 cu.ft.; 11 boxes and 53 oversized volumes
BACKGROUND NOTE
In 1886 Charles H. Rudge and J. F. Morris established a retail firm selling hardware, stove and tinware at 1122 N Street in Lincoln, Nebraska. Later, C. J. Guenzel assumed the stock of Morris, and the firm’s name was changed to Rudge and Guenzel. The six-story Rudge & Guenzel building at 13th and N Street was constructed in 1918. Their department store retail operation was sold to Allied Stores in 1929, but continued to operate under the old name until its doors were closed in 1941.
For a more detailed history of Rudge & Guenzel, see Howard, Vicki, “The Rise and Fall of Rudge & Guenzel: From Independent Retailer to Department Store Chain,” Nebraska History 89 (2008): 102-119.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
In addition to general bookkeeping records, this collection contains minutes of stockholders and board meetings, stock certificates, merchandise registers, mortgage bonds and coupons and correspondence. The collection is not fully processed, but the following inventory is available.
Note: In many cases both the Expense Registers and the Merchandise Registers are titled on the inside – “Register of Merchandise Purchased by Department.” The outside of the volumes are marked with either Expense Register or Merchandise Register. They seem to differ only in the various columns of information recorded.
Acc. 610; 2004.0076; 2024.0137
Subject headings:
Guenzel, Carl John, 1868-1951
Hardware stores — Nebraska
Lancaster County (Neb.) — History
Lincoln (Neb.) — Businesses
Merchants — Nebraska
Morris, J. F.
Retail trade
Rudge and Guenzel Department Store (Lincoln, Neb.)
Rudge, Charles H., 1858-1921
DDM/pmc 01-31-1987
Revised TMM 03-13-2017; 06-24-2024
