Creating lifetime customers by delivering the best customer service possible to every customer…every time

History of Stout's Footwear

In 1886, Harry Stout and William Bristor established Harry Stout & company, a boot and shoe store at318 Massachusetts Avenue in Indianapolis. In a time of hand-cobbled shoes, an off-the-shelf shoe store was a new concept. Stout's father, Benjamin, who died is 1875, ran a grocery and dry goods business. Harry's widowed mother, Elizabeth, ran the growing business while he finished his engineering degree at Purdue. Edward Stout, Harry's brother, replaced Bristor as partner in 1891. Harry Stout attracted customers by selling name-brand shoes at a discount, and by stocking a wide variety of sizesand widths.