John E. Grady, founder of J.E. Grady and Company, was born in Apalachicola on August 4, 1853. His brother and partner, Henry L. Grady, was born in 1848. Their parents, Cornelius and Elizabeth Lucas Grady, were both natives of Ireland, but first met in Apalachicola and married in 1845. With the hope of better opportunities than Ireland could offer,  Cornelius Grady found work in the up and coming cotton port as a lumber inspector. It is believed that Elizabeth came to Apalachicola because members of her family were already established there.

John entered the mercantile trade at age thirteen and soon became the manager of several large houses along Water Street. Henry and John were deeply respected civic leaders, both servin in an official capacity in the Democratic Party and in the Florida Legislature. Both brothers were members of the vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church. Henry served as senior warden for more than 50 years.

Grady Store 1901

In 1884, John founded J.E. Grady and Co., a ship chandlery located in one of the three-story cotton warehouses build in the 1840s. The cotton trade, which had been the lifeblood of the Apalachicola economy in the antebellum period, was diverted by railroads after the Civil War. Retailers continued to occupy the first floor of the cotton warehouses as the timber industry revived the town in the 1880s. Cypress and yellow pine, both of which grew abundantly in Franklin county, was fast becoming one of Florida's leading exports. Grady and Company's primary customers were the lumber mills as well as the ships that exported the cypress and pine. The chandlery was stocked with a wide array of goods from groceries to hardware.

As the cypress and yellow pine industry continued to grow at the end of the nineteenth century, the Grady store prospered and expanded. In 1889, J.E. Grady and Company purchased several lots in a downtown block between Water and Commerce Streets. On this property, a two story wooden building was constructed along with twin board and batton warehouses. Henry Grady, recently completing a term in the Florida House of Representatives, joined his brother in the business.

Apalachicola and J.E. Grady and Company were forever altered in 1900. In May of that year, a domestic fire spread downtown and destroyed 71 buildings including the Grady Store. The Grady Store sustained $35,000 in damage of which $15,000-$20,000 was covered by insurance.

Fortunately for the economic well being of the town, the cypress mills, the largest employers in Apalachicola, were virtually unscathed. The Gradys relied heavily on the lumber mills for keeping river traffic busy and thus creating a need for a ship chandlery.

Immediately after the fire, the Grady store had reopened in a temporary location with a new edifice under construction. The Grady Building which exists today was completed in November of 1900.

Along with the timber industry, J.E. Grady and Co. enjoyed its best business years from the turn of the century until the mid-1920s. Though the shallow harbor of Apalachicola Bay limited trade, the completion of the Apalachicola Northern Railroad in 1907 was a boon to both the timber and seafood industries. The rail terminus, at Avenue F between Water and Commerce Streets, was three blocks north of the Grady store. A spur of the rail line extended along the wharf on Water Street directly in front of the ship chandlery to load canned seafood from the packing houses on the river.

Signs of flourishing international trade were evident in the new century as the tri-color flag of France flew from the second story of the Grady building. A consulate was established in Apalachicola as early a the mid-1800s to assist French commercial interests. Henry Grady, who assumed control of the business after John's death in 1905, also rented office space to the Captain of the Port and the United States Custom Office.

As the timber industry of Franklin County declined and the nation's economy fell into the Great Depression, J.E. Grady and Co. closed its doors in 1933 after nearly fifty years of business.

The building was back in used in the early 1940s as the United States military prepared for the Second World War and a tent factory was established in the Grady building. Apalachicola Tent and Awning Company employed more then fifteen employees, mostly women, between 1941-1945.

Over the following decades, the Grady building housed a retail business and until the late 1980s, a net factory.

Rapidly deteriorating, the Grady building sat empty until 1995 when it was sold to its current owners.

Following an extensive restoration, the Grady building reopened in fall, 1998.

The Grady Market, located on the first floor of the Grady Building features numerous boutiques and emporiums specializing in antiques, clothing gourmet items, and unique gifts. The Grady Market uses the original counters from the old J.E. Grady & Co. ship chandlery.

The Consulate, named for the French official who occupied the space early in the 20th century, is located on the second floor. It features four luxury vacation suites with full kitchens and living areas, the Consulate is the Apalachicola riverfront's premier accommodation.


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