Sample Shoe Store

Cobbler
1913-1934

145 East Main Street
Spartanburg, SC 29306

FAMILIES: Hecklin

Samuel Hecklin (1876-1951) was born in Volozhun, Vilna, Russia and immigrated to the United States in the early 1890s. He initially settled in Rhode Island and married Gretchen “Gussie” about 1901. They eventually had four children: Simon, Rosa, Sarah, and Alice. The Hecklins settled in Spartanburg, and Samuel opened Hecklin Bros. (later B. Hecklin) with his brother, Barnett Hecklin. They worked as shoemakers until 1913, when Samuel opened Sample Shoe Store at 145 E. Main Street. His son, Simon, later clerked in the store. Sample Shoe Store moved at least twice, to 143 E. Main Street and 149 E. Main Street, before closing about 1934. That year, the Hecklins opened Shirley’s.

The Jewish Merchant Project is supported by the generosity of the Henry & Sylvia Yaschik Foundation and the Stanley B. Farbstein Endowment at the Coastal Community Foundation.

JHSSC Office
Sylvia Vlosky Yaschik Jewish Studies Center
96 Wentworth Street
Charleston, SC 29424
Phone: 843 953 3918