Smith’s jewelry celebrating 115 years in downtown Dublin

Smith’s Jewelry opened in 1911 the same year William Howard Taft was the president of the United States, Chevrolet entered the automobile market, the first Indianapolis 500 was held, the RMS Olympic began her sea trials and the the hull of the RMS Titanic was launched in Belfast.

Smith’s of Dublin, 130 W. Jackson St., was first mention as Smith’s Jewelers appearing in the Sept. 22, 1911 edition of the then Dublin Courier-Herald Dispatch and Press. Current owner Natalie Young Curry does not know the exact date the business opened.

“The store started just as jewelry and added the tabletop and gifts,” Curry said. “We’ve been serving brides. I registered here as a bride and my mother-in-law registered here as a bride. We have been serving brides for generations to select their china, as well as get their engagement and wedding rings.” 

They will be celebrating from 10 a.m to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24.

“We will have giveaways, swag bags and obviously some celebration with mimosas and coffee and we’d love for people to come out,” Curry said. “We are also celebrating Herend, which is celebrating 200 years this year. They are hand painted in Hungary and they are known for their dinerware and figurines. Each fall they select 10 stores nationwide and they get to have this exhibition.”

And Smith’s of Dublin was one of those 10 stores.

“Herend collectors know that the bunnies come in blue, pink and green, but in the fall, they do an exhibition which has limited edition colors,” Curry said. “For the collectors who love Herend, they get really excited about it because this is something that not everybody will see. For me, this is a really big honor to be selected and most of them are in major markets.”

After 5 p.m. this Thursday, these will go online and anybody nationwide can go online and shop. 

Curry said the original store was located across the street from the store’s current location but closer to the Laurens County Courthouse. The original store was open by William Smith.

In 1922, Dan Cullen Fischer owned the store at 205 S. Jefferson St., changing the name to Fischer’s. A newspaper ad on auG. 21, 1930 promoted the store moving to its current location on West Jackson Street. He died in 1931.

Benjamin Smith, who went by Jack, and Ruby McCord Bixler Clark, bought Fischer’s in 1932 and changed the name back to Smith’s. Ralph and Elizabeth Attaway bought it in 1969.

Jack and Jackie Ellington bought the store in 1984. Jackie retired and sold the store to Curry in 2015, who did a complete renovation at 130 W. Jackson St.

“This is a good milestone,” Curry said. “What I am really proud of is that I am one of the four women owners (of Smith’s). It is a honor to get to carry on this legacy because we have served the community for a long time. I am really grateful for the support from the community because you don’t see many businesses like us anymore. We’re lucky that we get to keep doing this.”