Harper Donelson Sheppard was born in
Pitt County, North Carolina, on October 9, 1868, the 13th of 15 children. Sheppard then entered into a financial partnership with C.N. Myers, and together they established the Hanover Shoe on December 26, 1899, with a common vision: sell the best shoes possible for one price, $2.50 a pair, and eliminate the middle-man by selling directly to the public. They opened their first store in York in June 1900; within fifteen years the Hanover Shoe Company had 61 stores from
Indianapolis to
New York City. The two men were also responsible for financing or operating such ventures as the Hanover General Hospital, the
Evening Sun, the public waterworks and two impounding dams, the local athletic field and the
Hanover Shoe Farms, today the largest standardbred nursery in the world. A Hanover Shoe retailer remains in Hanover, Pennsylvania, but its shoes are manufactured outside of the United States.
Horween Leather Company in Chicago supplies leather shells for footwear to Hanover Shoe. ==See also==