Frank Winfield Woolworth Frank Winfield Woolworth Frank Winfield Woolworth (April 13, 1852 – April 8, 1919) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of F. W. Woolworth Company and the operator of variety stores known as "Five-and-Dimes" (5- and 10-cent stores) or dimestores, which featured a low-priced selection of merchandise. He pioneered the now-common practices of buying merchandise directly from manufacturers and fixing the selling prices on items, rather than haggling. He was also the first to use self-service display cases, so customers could examine what they wanted to buy without the help of a sales clerk. Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman,
F. W. Woolworth Building (Watertown, New York) is complete and the building is occupied. The ground floor is to remain commercial space. F. W. Woolworth Building (Watertown, New York) The Woolworth Building is an historic building in Watertown, New York. It is a contributing building in the Public Square Historic District. Plans for the Woolworth Building were begun in 1916 by Frank W. Woolworth, the founder of the Woolworth's chain of department stores. Woolworth began his retail career at the Smith and Moore Dry Goods Store in Watertown in 1873. It was during his time here that he was given the idea of selling fixed price merchandise,