J.M. McDonald

James M. McDonald
Born	Template:Birth date Kingston, Missouri, U.S.
Died	September 21, 1956(1956-09-21) (aged 75)
Occupation	Retail executive
Known for	Expanding JCPenney stores; founding J.M. McDonald department stores

James M. McDonald (July 20, 1881 – September 21, 1956) was a prominent American retail executive known for his role in expanding the JCPenney department store network and establishing a department store chain under his own brand.

History

Born on July 20, 1881, in Kingston, Missouri, James M. McDonald Sr. was the fourth of five sons to Daniel G. McDonald, who managed a mercantile business in Hamilton, Missouri affiliated with the Cash-Cowgill Company chain. This early experience working alongside his father introduced McDonald to the retail trade.

In April 1905, McDonald relocated to Kemmerer, Wyoming to support James Cash Penney, a former Hamilton neighbor, in running his inaugural store. After approximately half a year in Kemmerer, he moved to Spokane, Washington to collaborate with his brothers on a department store project. McDonald married Josephine Armstrong in Spokane in December 1910. The following year, he returned to Penney’s organization as assistant manager of the 25th store located in Pendleton, Oregon. By spring 1912, McDonald advanced to manage the Penney store in Moscow, Idaho. His career progressed further when he transferred to Penney’s New York City headquarters in 1914. He joined the board of directors and was elevated to vice president in 1921, overseeing merchandising and new store development until retiring in 1929.

J.M. McDonald department stores

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JM McDonald's department store logo

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J. M. McDonald's Department Store in Helena, Montana

Following his retirement, McDonald spent seven years consulting from a New York City office for manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers. During this period, he connected with Ebden Brown of the Brown-Ekberg Company based in Holdrege, Nebraska, a struggling department store. After a 1934 meeting with Brown, McDonald acquired Harry Ekberg’s share, rebranding the business as Brown-McDonald and launching four additional stores over three years. In 1936, the company relocated its headquarters to Hastings, Nebraska.

From 1937 until his death in 1947, leadership of the company was under McDonald’s brother D.G. McDonald. James briefly resumed control after D.G.’s passing; then in 1948, his son J.M. McDonald Jr. assumed the presidency. The chain expanded across Midwestern and Western states and was eventually renamed J.M. McDonald.

In 1968, the department store chain was acquired by Gamble-Skogmo Inc., which continued operating the outlets. Gamble-Skogmo itself was purchased by Wickes Companies in 1980. Following Wickes’ bankruptcy filing in 1982, the J.M. McDonald stores were liquidated by late 1983 as part of corporate restructuring efforts.

Farming and Philanthropy

During the mid-1920s, McDonald acquired a farm located in Cortland, New York, where he developed a distinguished herd of purebred Guernsey cattle. This herd grew to become one of the leading Guernsey collections nationwide. Upon his passing, McDonald donated the core of the McDonald Farms herd, consisting of 365 cattle, to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The donation was intended to support a long-term breeding research initiative. Additionally, approximately 1,700 acres of farmland along with all associated equipment were included in the gift.

McDonald was also a significant benefactor of the School of the Ozarks in Missouri, contributing funds for the renovation of the school’s museum, modernization of its machine shop, and construction of a new hospital.

In 1952, he founded the J.M. McDonald Foundation, which provides grants focused on education, humanities, healthcare, and various social and human services, with an emphasis on upstate New York. The foundation has also supported initiatives in Hastings, Nebraska—the location of the department store’s headquarters—including financing a planetarium at the Hastings Museum.

External links

• J.M. McDonald Foundation