Surasky Brothers Department Store

In the late nineteenth century, five Surasky brothers, Benedict Morris “B.M.” Surasky (1863-1934), Hiram Charles “H.C.” Surasky (1872-1932), Solomon “Sol” Surasky (1876-1941), Samuel “Sam” Surasky (1879-1949), and Abraham “Abram” Surasky (d. 1903) immigrated to the United States from Knyszyn, Poland. During the 1890s, the siblings partnered peddling wares to rural communities. In 1903, an anti-Semite brutally murdered Abraham. The next year, at present-day 118 Laurens Street SW, the four surviving siblings cooperatively established Surasky Brothers Department Store. In 1917, the brothers dissolved the partnership.