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Trade Card -Julius Falk...advertising Owl Shirt....Owl Big Eyed Bird.....Peru, IN ...ad on verso....Julius Falk was the son of Moses Falk, an old time citizen of Peru, who came to this county in 1834. Julius succeeded his father in the clothing business in Peru in 1864 at which time the store was located on south Broadway in what is now known as the Barnhart building. Later Julius transfered his business, in 1878, to the Red Front, on south Broadway, and in 1890 moved to the corner of Broadway and Main streets where the Falk store is now located. Miami County's first Jewish citizen was Moses Falk, an immigrant from Wurtemburg, Germany arrived in Miami County around 1838.2 Falk was a trader originally based out of Cincinnati who made his living by offering goods to European and American residents, as well as local Native Americans. Falk eventually organized a store known as the "Dutch Grocery" in Peoria, a pioneer Miami County settlement located southeast of present-day Peru, along the shore of Mississinewa Lake. Moses and his brother Loeb were the two of the first three Miami County residents to become naturalized United States citizens after filing naturalization papers in 1844.3 In 1850 Moses decided to move to Peru, starting the Falk Store, which he would manage until his death in 1878. His resulting commercial success made Falk "the first Jewish communal leader of importance" in the state, according to the Jewish Post and Opinion. Falk was soon joined by other men from his native Wurtemburg throughout the 1840s, creating a successful pioneer Jewish community centered in Peru.

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Physical Location

Arc.MS.56, Box 20, Folder 11