Hyman’s Department Store

Abraham Hyman (1871-1942) established Hyman’s Department Store at 69 Public Square in Darlington, South Carolina around the turn of the century. Abaraham immigrated to the United States from Russia around 1886 and moved to Darlington in 1890. He quickly acquired farmland in the Pee Dee region and went on to become one of the largest landowners in the state. Not long after settling in Darlington, Abraham also opened a dry goods business which grew to become Hyman’s Department Store. In 1903, Abraham married South Carolina native Celia Weinberg (1877-1957) who took an active role in managing and arranging the growing business. By 1921, Abraham reportedly owned nearly a whole city block on Public Square and was regarded as one of Darlington’s “most successful and trusted business men” who “knows no religion when it comes to helping the poor and needy.”¹ Over the years he faced a series of setbacks, including a devastating fire in 1921, but nonetheless transformed his dry goods business into a fully incorporated department store in 1925. Abraham died at age seventy-one in 1942.

¹ “Flames Destroy Darlington Store,” State, February 24, 1921, 1.