TC-POWER-AND-BRO - THE RISE OF A SMALL WESTERN DEPARTMENT STORE, 1870-1902

When studying retailing and its role in developing the American mass m arket, historians traditionally have focused their attention on large department stores. An analysis of the influence of small department st ores in the growth of underdeveloped sections of the American West pro vides a different emphasis. The following article traces the history o f T. C. Power & Bro.-a small, family-run department store in Montana-b efore the early 1900s. The article demonstrates that the firm's servic e was tailored to the economic and social needs of urban and rural set tlers on the western frontier, helping to create a consumer society in the West.