The Robbins & McGowin Building

The Robbins and McGowin Building. . Truly an Escambia County landmark, Robbins and McGowin Co. organized in March 1897 with the consolidation of the J. I. Robbins and J. G. McGowin Stores, the millinery of Miss L. A. Cunningham, the Blacksher-Miller Commissary, and the J. E. Finlay Co. The J. E. Finlay Co. began February 1892. Finlay learned the retail business from his father, W. A. Finlay, who owned and operated the Finlay Mercantile in nearby Pollard, Al. John Edward "Ned" Finlay bought the controlling interest in Robbins and McGowin Co. in 1906. Shortly after acquiring control, he purchased the two-story Harold Bros. Commissary (Foshee Bldg.) which became the Hardware store. This was the first brick building built in Brewton circa 1878 of hand-made bricks shipped from Montgomery. The first depot was located in front of this store, which accounts for the recessed parking area. Fifteen year Henry Scott hauled the brick in a small wagon from the depot for the construction. Robbins and McGowin originally operated with gas lighting but had some of the first electric lights installed in 1887. Robbins also had the first passenger elevator (1929) in Brewton. During its heyday, Robbins and McGowin was one of the largest stores of its kind in the southeast. Even wild mustangs, shipped from Texas by rail, were sold here. During world war two the store’s buyers traveled to New York City for the latest fashions. Their catalog later replaced by the Brewton Trade Record newspaper, served the areas of south Alabama, northwest Florida, and eastern Mississippi. For many years prominent historian and attorney Ed Leigh McMillan had his law offices on the third floor. J. E. Finlay died in 1946. His sons John David Finlay, Sr. and Norvelle Robertson "Bob" Finlay and later his grandson, J. D. Finlay, Jr. continued operating Robbins and McGowin, serving this area for over 100 years.