My wife and I recently had the pleasure of hosting friends from Little Rock, Carolyn Gray LeMaster and her sister Ellen Gray, during their foray to Northwest Arkansas. Carolyn, who is the author of the highly regarded history of Jews in Arkansas, A Corner of the Tapestry (1994), gave me a copy of her 1995 book The Ottenheimers of Arkansas. While I thought I knew a fair amount about Leonard and Gus Ottenheimer, Carolyn’s account of the family reveals a truly amazing group of people who have contributed mightily to the story of Little Rock and the state as a whole.
Like so many of the Jewish immigrants who settled in Arkansas prior to the Civil War, the Ottenheimer family was from Germany. Louis Ottenheimer was the first member of the family to immigrate to Arkansas, settling in the late1840s in St. Francis County. He began his long career in retail as a peddler.
Daniel Ottenheimer at age 18 immigrated to Arkansas, settling in 1853 at Murfreesboro; younger brother Phillip came two years later, settling at Norristown near modern Russellville. While Daniel sat out the Civil War in California, Phillip joined the Confederate army and saw action as a member of the First Arkansas Mounted Rifles and later in Kentucky as a part of General Albert S. Johnston’s army. Still another brother, Abraham Ottenheimer, came to Arkansas during the war; he, too, joined the Confederate army.
Following the Civil War, Phillip and Abe opened a store in Pine Bluff but soon relocated to Little Rock. Ottenheimer & Brother dry goods store opened at just the right time to take advantage of the burgeoning growth of the city.
Daniel P. Ottenheimer, Phillip and Charlotte’s son, joined his father in the dry goods business, later owning a book and stationery shop in Little Rock. Daniel’s oldest son, Leonard, went to work in the dry goods business, starting as a lowly helper at the Doyle-Kidd Co., a large wholesale business. He moved up the ladder quickly, ultimately becoming manager of household furnishings. But he was ready to start a business of his own.
On a cool autumn day in 1924, Leonard J. Ottenheimer Ladies Ready-to-Wear business opened at 108 E. Markham St. in Little Rock. It was a wholesale business representing several manufacturers, and it became a success.
Gus Ottenheimer was able to stay in school after his father died and he, along with good friend Jim Penick, attended Washington and Lee University School of Law. After working for a time as a lawyer in Rhode Island, Gus returned to Little Rock in 1926 and joined Leonard’s dress jobbing business. Soon the Depression struck, forcing Ottenheimer Brothers to begin manufacturing the dresses they were selling, thereby cutting out the middlemen.
Once again the brothers overcame economic peril, and their business prospered. Carolyn Le-Master noted that “at first they made sportswear and higher-priced dresses, but in the late 1930s they found a high demand for low-cost cotton dresses.” Eventually Ottenheimer Brothers grew to become one of the largest national manufacturers of women’s clothing. The brothers sold the company to Kellwood, a division of Sears Roebuck, in 1955.
Gus and Leonard were considered ahead of their time in numerous respects, including starting a sewing plant for black workers who were paid the same as white employees. Many who recall Leonard and Gus Ottenheimer associate them with their activities on the social and civic front in Little Rock. Gus was known for his devotion to Rotary International. The Ottenheimer brothers were active in a spectrum of community projects. Gus took a special interest in higher education, and the Ottenheimer Library at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock is symbolic of that interest. Many Arkansas organizations and institutions have benefited from the Ottenheimer Brothers Foundation, which was incorporated in 1965. Neither man married, and they hoped the Foundation would perpetuate the Ottenheimer name.
Leonard Ottenheimer died in 1984 at age 92, and Gus died a year later at age 87. They are buried at Oakland Jewish Cemetery in Little Rock. The foundation and the name live on.
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Tom Dillard is an historian and retired archivist living in Farmington, Ark. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial, Pages 78 on 05/26/2013