Francis S.J. Ronald
Francis S.J. Ronald partnered with his son W.A. Ronald to create Ronald and Co., a tobacco warehouse and wholesaler company located on Main Street. Francis Ronald died sometime between 1875 and 1878, and Ronald and Co. went bankrupt in 1877. The Ronald family had fallen on hard times along like many others during the Panic of 1873. This financial crisis, caused by a decline in the demand for silver, prompted a severe international economic depression. Both Europe and the United States were affected by the crisis, which lasted until 1879 in most of the countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression or the Long Depression.