Johnston & Murphy is an American footwear and clothing company based in Nashville, Tennessee. Johnston & Murphy designs, sources, markets and distributes footwear, apparel, leather goods and luggage. A subsidiary of Genesco, the Johnston & Murphy Group operates retail and wholesale businesses.
History
Johnston & Murphy traces its roots to the William J. Dudley Shoe Company, founded in 1850 in Newark, New Jersey, by William J. Dudley, a European immigrant and master craftsman who had been schooled in the classic tradition of English shoemaking.[1] The William J. Dudley Shoe Company specialized in quality, highly durable work shoes for men, women and children. During its first 25 years, the company's growth forced five moves to increasingly larger locations. The Factory was originally located in a three-story structure on Market Street, near Lawrence Street, close to Pennsylvania Station.[2] It has been noted by the late historian William Starr Myers that Charles Goodyear, inventor of the Goodyear welt, was a frequent visitor of Dudley's, conferring into the night with Dudley.