1. James C. Penney Foundation Records, 1929-1999 41.8 cubic feet (41 cartons, 2 document cases, 2 video cassettes, 7 audio cassettes, 3 CDs)
Penney, James C. (James Cash), 1875-1971
The James C. Penney Foundation was created in 1954 by the merchant, James Cash Penney, and his wife, Caroline A. Penney. James C. Penney was born on September 16, 1875 near Hamilton, Missouri. In the early 1900s he purchased his first store, called the Golden Rule. His values, emphasizing both the customer and the employee, helped him build a chain of Golden Rule stores that was renamed the J.C. Penney Company, Inc. in 1913. Penney's personal philanthropy began with death of his second wife, Mary. He formed the J.C. Penney Foundation in 1925 in her memory to help support youth programs and the Penney Farms, a retirement community founded by Penney for ministers. The J.C. Penney Foundation folded after the stock market crash in 1929, but Penney regained his personal fortune and renewed his interest in philanthropy over the next two decades. In 1954 he and his wife, Caroline, founded a second foundation, called the James C. Penney Foundation.