George Huntington Hartford

Who was George Huntington Hartford?

George Huntington Hartford headed The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company from 1878 to 1917. During this period, A&P created the concept of the chain grocery store and expanded into the country's largest retailer. He joined the firm as a clerk in 1861 and quickly assumed managerial responsibilities. When A&P's founder, George Gilman retired in 1878, Hartford entered into a partnership agreement and ran the company until the founder's death in 1901. In the settlement of Gilman's estate, Hartford acquired control of the company and ultimately purchased the interests of Gilman's heirs.

George Hartford was born on a farm in Augusta, Maine and started his retail career at age 18 in Boston. By 1861, he lived in Brooklyn, New York where he married Marie Josephine Ludlum. They had three sons and two daughters. While he was known to be a private person, Hartford was elected Mayor of Orange, New Jersey in 1878 and served for 12 years. Hartford retired from the active management of the business about 1907 or 1908 and turned the firm over to two of his sons, George Ludlum Hartford and John Augustine Hartford.