Gilchrist’s Department Store is established.

Founded by Scottish immigrant George Turnball, it is located on Washington Street. The company is taken over by one of Turnball’s clerks, a young Scotsman named Robert Gilchrist, and his brother John in 1855. It moves to a new building on Washington Street in 1899,* and subsequently becomes known as a more affordable alternative to Jordan Marsh and Filene’s. The store closes in 1975