Our History

In 1886, Harry Stout and William Bristor established Harry Stout & company, a boot and shoe store at 318 Massachusetts Avenue in Indianapolis. In a time of hand cobbled shoes, an off the shelf shoe store was a new concept. Stout's father, Benjamin, who died is 1875, ran a grocery and dry goods business. Harry's widowed mother, Elizabeth, supposedly ran the growing business while he finished his engineering degree at Purdue. Edward Stout, Harry's brother, replaced Bristor as partner in 1891. Harry Stout attracted customers by selling name-brand shoes at a discount, and by stocking a wide variety of sizes and widths.  

In the early 20th century, each salesperson hand wrapped all items purchased in the store. A system of baskets hanging from wires was, and still is, used to transport the purchased items and cash to and from different areas of the shoe store.  This system is called the Baldwin Flyer and we are the last shoe store still using it.  The Baldwin Flyer system was intended to centralize the wrapping process. After the salesperson rang up the purchase it was placed with the money in a basket, which was lifted to the mezzanine to be wrapped and have change made. The wrapped shoes were sent in another basket to the front desk where an attendant would hand the shoes and change to the customer. On a busy Saturday in addition to the salesperson, two "wrappers", a cashier and a front desk attendant were required to run the system.  It all sounds very confusing… I would recommend that you come in to the store an see it for yourself.

Harry Stout died in 1912 at which time his brother Edward assumed full control of the business. Harry's three sons Oliver, Sidney and Dick fought in World War I. Dick was awarded the French Croix De Guerre for rescuing wounded soldiers under fire. After Dick Stout's death in an airplane accident, Stout Field in Indianapolis was named in his honor.

In the early 20th century Stout's operated under different names at different locations all in downtown Indianapolis. A bicycle delivery boy shuttled stock between stores. Three stores closed during the Great Depression, only the original store survived. After Oliver and Sidney returned from World War II, Edward Stout retired and the two brothers along with Oliver's son Harry, ran the business. In addition to helping run the shoe business, Oliver assisted in founding The Indiana Air National Guard and served as its first commanding general.

During the 1950s Stout's continued to boast a wide selection of sizes and widths. Business thrived by buying factory seconds shoes and repairing them to be sold at a discount to the customer. In addition to the foot x-ray machine, Sidney kept in the store a monkey and a parrot. Sidney died in 1967 leaving Oliver and his son Harry to run the store. In the sixties, the city grew outward. New shopping malls sprouted in the suburbs as the downtown area was left to decay. The once vibrant shopping area of Massachusetts Avenue was replaced by run down store fronts and the homeless. Stout’s Shoe Store was an exception to the decline. Stout's continued to thrive and operated in much the same way it had in the early part of the century. In 1972, Oliver died and Harry was left to run the shoe store by himself.

In 1982 Harry's son Brad joined the business. Harry started the revival of Massachusetts Avenue in 1984 when he renovated a small building next to Stout's. The following year, Harry continued the revival by renovating the façade of Stout's shoes.

Stout's began to expand in the 1980s opening the Carmel shoe store in 1985, and a Greenwood branch in 1991. In 1999 the Greenwood store was converted to a New Balance athletic store Owned by Stout's.   Stephanie Stout, Brad's wife, joined the company in 2001 and together they opened the Brownsburg store in 2002.

As business for the independent shoe retailer has changed over the years, Stout's has evolved into a Mecca of high-end quality footwear accompanied by an environment of full service custom fitting. Each customer is still individually measured and fit according to the type of shoe for which they are looking. We offer a wide range of sizes and an abundant selection of quality footwear.

In 2009 Brady Stout graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Economics. He joined the company with a focus on web sales and expanding Stout’s Footwear to the internet. In 2010 Shoestores.com launched and with it the oldest shoe store in the country has extended excellent service, quality shoes and a storied tradition to a new and wonderful place.