Historical Materials

Pringle's History of Gloucester contains the following description of Alex Patillo's Dry Goods store in Gloucester:

"One of the old reliable and standard dry goods firms of the city is that of Alex Pattilo [sic]. Mr Pattillo [sic] is a veteran in this business and his house is antedated in town by one only. At 13 years of age he was apprenticed to the firm of James Mansfield & Son, in their dry goods department, afterwards with John C. Calef & Co., with whom he served eight years. In 1852 he embarked in business for himself in Center's Block, and in 1864 took the lease of the building occupying his present location at 120 and 122 Main Street, then known as Union Block. Some 18 years ago his establishment with others were burned, but nothing daunted he purchased the site and erected the present fine brick business block in which by honest dealing he has buit up one of the largest businesses of the kind on the cape, occupying two stories of the edifice. He is the oldest Gloucester dry goods man in active business at the present time, having seen 48 years of service, and is always abreast of the times in every essential pertaining to a wide awake business man. The needs of his establishment require the attention of 16 clerks throughout the year. He is a prominent member of the Baptist church, of which society he has been treasurer for 25 years, and is also treasurer of the Gloucester Lyceum and Sawyer Free Library. His father, Capt. James Pattillo, was one of the most energetic and enterprising of Gloucester's master mariners who have done so much to build up the business of the town."

– Taken from James R. Pringle, History of the Town and City of Gloucester, Cape Ann, Massachusetts (1892), 333.