With locations in Brockton, Fall River, Dartmouth and Swansea, Edgar’s started a popular Christmas tradition, here is a look back at the department store chain

Did you know that a southeastern Massachusetts department store chain started a huge Christmas tradition that is still alive and well to this day? Here is a look back at Edgar’s.

Edgar Department Stores, originally known as “The Boston Store,” was a New England-based retail chain founded in 1890 in Brockton, Massachusetts, by James Edgar, an immigrant from Edinburgh, Scotland. After a second devastating fire in less than 20 years, Edgar bought out his partner and reopened the business as Edgar’s in a new, fire-proof building on Main Street in downtown Brockton. A notable historical milestone: James Edgar is credited with being the first department store Santa Claus, starting in December 1890. He dressed as Santa to entertain children, drawing families from all over the area to see him, establishing a tradition that spread to other major department stores by 1891.

The chain expanded beyond Brockton, opening locations in Fall River (Fall River Shopping Center), as well as in the Dartmouth Mall, and Swansea Mall.

Edgar’s sold a range of goods, including clothing, home goods, jewelry, cosmetics, and some toys, aiming to maintain a “department store cachet.” However, by the early 1960s, the company was acquired by Almy, Bigelow and Washburn, Inc., which operated multiple department stores in eastern Massachusetts under various names. By the mid-1970s, some Edgar’s locations were rebranded as Almy’s.

The chain struggled to compete with discount retailers like Bradlees, Ames, Zayre, and Mammoth Mart, especially as shopping trends shifted toward suburban malls. Edgar’s reluctance to abandon city-center locations for malls contributed to its decline. The company eventually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and was bought by Bradlees, which closed most of the Almy stores. By the early 2000s, Bradlees itself went bankrupt and shuttered, marking the end of Edgar’s legacy as a retail entity.

James Edgar’s broader impact endures through his Santa Claus tradition and his philanthropy—during his lifetime, he funded children’s medical care and supported shelters for the homeless in Brockton, embodying a community-focused spirit.