J. Vince Walker was born in Williamson County in 1858. The first years of his life were spent on the Walker farm between Carterville and Marion. On December 23, 1883 he married Nellie Spiller. Nellie was one of the nine daughters of William J. Spiller, founder of Spillertown.
He was successful from the start with the operation of a general store at Carterville in 1884. When Goodspeed was compiling a history of Williamson County in 1894, the store of Spiller and Walker General Store was listed as a business in Carterville. Through this period of time, for six years, Walker was in partnership with his father in law, William J. Spiller.
Walker lived to see his three sons, Fred, Carl and Jo into business, operating stores under his direction at Carterville, Herrin and Christopher.
Incorporated in 1910, the stockholders included members of the J. V. Walker family, Ben E. La Master and Claude Brown, with J. V. Walker, president; Fred S. Walker, vice-president; Carl S. Walker, treasurer, and Jo V. Walker, secretary.
The business was directed by Mr. Walker until his death in October, 1913. After his death, the eldest son, Fred Walker, became the head of the business.
In 1918, the Herrin store was one of the most modern in the state and had an extraordinary beautiful front. Each store was equipped with the same style New Way Grand Rapids fixtures.
The year 1916 saw Ben E. La Master placed at the head of a Walker store in Johnston City. The four stores were operated through WWI with the loss of Jo from the Herrin store and Carl from the Christopher store.
During this period the Herrin store was in charge of Noah McNeill and the Christopher store in charge of Albert C. Gibson. Jo served in the United States Navy and Carl with the American Expeditionary Forces with the railway engineers in France. Both returned in the summer of 1919 in good health and anxious to get back to selling clothing.
With the full united force again after the war and an opportunity in Benton for a Walker store, Mr. Brown of the Carterville store was sent to Benton.
The stores sold the same standard lines of merchandise selected by Mr. Walker back in the early days of the business, such as Hart Schaffner & Marx clothes, W. L. Douglas shoes, Stetson hats, Manhattan shirts, Cooper’s underwear, and Black Cat hosiery.
The J.V. Walker store arrived in Marion in 1931 and was located at 1205 Public Square, on the east side next to the old City Hall.
The Marion store in the 1940’s and up to around 1955 was managed by George B. Greenwood. After 1955, it was managed to its closing by Bill Hadfield. Bill Hadfield lived on Hadfield Street in the Cagle Addition.
The business remained in this location until a fire in August 1964 which forced re-location. They moved to 306 Public Square, west of the Bank of Marion.
In the 1970’s, toward the end, the business relocated once more to 205 Public Square where the Economy Store had done business for decades next to N. Market
In a Marion Daily Republican article dated January 11, 1979, Walker’s grandson James C. Walker of Herrin, announced that the final Walker Clothing stores in Marion, Herrin and Benton would undergo a liquidation sale in anticipation of closing on January 20, 1979.
Sam’s Notes: J.V. Walker was made Vice president of the Carterville First National Bank in 1908, the bank having organized in 1905.
(Data from Williamson County in the War, WCHS; Marion City Directories; Marion Daily Republican article, 1/11/1979; compiled by Sam Lattuca on 05/03/2013)