Joe Fleishman’s Department Store

Born in Baltimore to Lithuanian immigrants, Irwin Joseph “Joe” Fleishman (1899-1945) moved to Mullins, South Carolina in the 1920s and married Esther Solomon (1902-1945) of Horry County. In Mullins, Joe established a clothing store in his name and employed other members of the Jewish community—like Abraham (1888-1953) and Harold Iseman (1919-1988)—as they saved capital to open their own stores.

In 1937, Joe served as the founding president of the Mullins Chamber of Commerce and spearheaded the Tobacco Festival Association which sought to bolster revenue for local businesses. Describing the event, a writer for The Item noted that event was scheduled to end “with an outstanding ball at one of the large tobacco warehouses and a square dance at another warehouse.”¹ Four years later, Joe placed an advertisement in the Florence Morning News encouraging local tobacco farmers to buy clothing at his store while selling tobacco in Mullins.

In 1945, Joe and Esther were unexpectedly killed in a car accident. They were both prominent members of Ohav Shalom Synagogue in Dillon.

¹ “Mullins Planning Tobacco Festival Thursday, July 29,” Item, June 21, 1937, 6.