A (quote-unquote) "Ben Franklin Chain Store" is ready to welcome customers in Red Lodge, Montana. This November 1928 endeavor takes place just a year after Butler Brothers formed the Ben Franklin 5 & 10 chain.

Advert from the House of Butler Brothers

The Ben Franklin Stores logo for 1937.

Graphic from the House of Butler Brothers

The Butler Brothers company would often establish a Ben Franklin store in a new locale and then sell an operating franchise to a local businessman (or men), who would assume store's management. The Hansen's Ben Franklin store in Sag Harbor, Long Island may have had the same origin. It opened on March 15, 1941.

Advert from the House of Butler Brothers

The O'Neill, Nebraska Ben Franklin, circa-1949.

Photo and graphic from Butler Brothers

 

A Ben Franklin store in Middlebury, Vermont. This chain encompassed 2,500 stores at its peak. Today, its stores are geared toward craft-type merchandise.                                                                                    Photo from Wikipedia / "PenelopeIsMe"