Capin Mercantile Corporation

On this page we feature a few more items found in the Capin Collection housed in the UA Library's Special Collections [Finding Aid]

The El Paso Store, Nogales, Arizona  El Paso Store, circa late 1930s

The El Paso Store, Nogales, Arizona, 1920s and 1930s (SWJA)

In 1922, Hyman Capin purchased the S. Leeker Dry Goods store at 127 Morley Avenue. In 1930 it became The El Paso Store and in 1956 the name changed to Capin's Department Store. It became the first in the Capin Department Store chain.

La Ville de Paris, Nogales, Arizona, 1916

La Ville de Paris, Nogales, Arizona, 1916. Purchased by Hyman Capin, 1924 (SWJA)

Roadside billboard in Spanish

Roadside billboard in Spanish (SWJA)

Located on the Arizona-Sonora border, Capin's depended heavily on Mexican shoppers. Many from Nogales, Sonora, crossed the border to shop on Morley Avenue (just inside the international gate) in Nogales, Arizona. CMC operated several stores on Morley Avenue, including Capin's at 114 Morley Avenue. The Capin Department Store chain expanded in 1969 with a store in San Luis, Arizona, and in 1971 the first Capin's in Douglas, Arizona, opened. In June of 1977, Capin's of Nogales purchased the Pettett's department store in the Maryvale Shopping City in Phoenix, Arizona, and soon added a second store at W. Indian School Road. In June of 1977, Capin's of Nogales purchased the Pettett's department store in the Maryvale Shopping City in Phoenix, Arizona, and soon added a second store at W. Indian School Road. The Grand Opening of Capin's two Phoenix stores was held December 3, 1977.

Capin Mercantile Corporation Chronology

1919 Hyman Capin moves his family from Columbus, NM to Nogales, Arizona working as a tailor for the U.S. Army posts in the area.
1920 Hyman opens a tailor shop inside Camp Steven D. Little making uniforms andother clothing.
1922 The Capin family purchases the S. Leeker Dry Goods store Nogales, Arizona.
1924 The family purchases a second Nogales retail store, LaVille de Paris.
1925 Three sons and two sons-in-law join Hyman Capin in expanding the company to include the Boston Store in El Paso, Texas and the I. Schwarz Department Store in Texarkana, Texas.
1930 The S. Leeker Dry Goods Store name is changed to The El Paso Store.
1949 Capin Mercantile Corporation is founded.
1956 The El Paso Store in Nogales is changed to Capin's Department Store.
1960 The family opens the Parisian Department Store in Nogales, Arizona.
1967 Family members purchase Robinson's Hardware Store in Nogales, Arizona
1968 Capin's Mercantile Corporation expands to include a duty-free warehouse to ship liquor, cigarettes and personal items into Mexico.
1969 Capin's Mercantile Corporation opens second duty free warehouse in San Luis
1970 Family members open the Americana Motor Hotel in Nogales, Arizona
1971 Capin's expands to Douglas, Arizona with a store called Capin's. (This became a Factory 2-U store in 1992)
1973 Parisian store expands to Douglas, Arizona.
1978 Two Capin's stores open in Phoenix, AZ. One closed in 1980 and the other was changed to a Factory 2-U store in 1982
1982 The company registered the Factory 2-U name and started expanding the chain outside Nogales. By 1992 Capin's had 26 Factory 2-U stores in Arizona, 4 in New Mexico and one in El Paso, Texas.
1991 Capin's Mercantile Corporation builds a new Corporate Headquarters and warehouse in Nogales, Arizona at West La Quinta off Mariposa Ranch Road.
1995 Capin's Mercantile Corporation is sold with some family members retaining ownership of Robinson's Hardware stores.