Charles L. Merry

Posted on by Samantha Collins

Merry Building, image courtesy of the Kansas City Public Library, Missouri Valley Special Collections
Merry Building, image courtesy of the Kansas City Public Library, Missouri Valley Special Collections

 

Charles L. Merry knew how to make money. In 1873, at the ripe old age of 21, Merry started off as the owner of a large jewelry company in Norwalk, Ohio. After years of running the successful jewelry company, he made his way to Springfield, Mo., to work for the Julius King Optical Co. in Cleveland, Ohio. Soon, in 1892, Merry made yet another move, but this time to Kansas City to open his very own optical company called Merry Optical Co. at 1009-11 Walnut St., which soon became the first, and largest, wholesale optical business west of the Mississippi River. Merry expanded the company to 18 businesses in 10 different states during his almost 30 years of business. He became one of the wealthiest and well-known men in the Kansas City area until his death on May 5, 1920 at the age of 68.