Long before children lined up in shopping malls to meet Santa Claus, before parents dressed little ones in velvet dresses and stiff collars for the annual holiday photo, Santa lived mostly in the imagination. He appeared in poems, newspaper illustrations, Christmas cards, and bedtime stories. Children knew the sleigh, the reindeer, the toys, the beard, and the mystery of Christmas Eve, but the idea of standing face to face with Santa was still something most children could only dream about.
By the late 1800s, Santa Claus was becoming one of the most recognizable figures in American Christmas culture. Artists like Thomas Nast had helped shape the image of the round, jolly, bearded man we still recognize today. Still, Santa remained distant. He belonged to snowy rooftops, fireplaces, and the quiet hours after children had been sent to bed. He was beloved, but he was not someone a child expected to meet in the middle of town.
That changed in Brockton, Massachusetts, in 1890, because of a Scottish immigrant named James Edgar.
Around Brockton, Edgar was known as “Colonel Jim.” He owned a dry goods store on Main Street, the kind of place families visited for fabric, clothing, household items, and the small necessities of everyday life. A store like that could have been practical and ordinary, but Edgar had a flair for making it feel special. He was a businessman, certainly, but he was also playful, warm, and fond of children. He understood that a store could be more than a place to buy things. It could be a place where people felt welcome.
Edgar was already known around town for dressing up in costumes to entertain customers. At different times, he appeared as George Washington, a clown, or even a sea captain. It was part showmanship and part generosity, a way of giving people a story to take home with their purchases. To adults, it may have seemed like a charming stunt. To children, it must have felt like magic had wandered into the room.
Then Christmas came around, and Edgar began thinking about Santa Claus. If children loved Santa so much, why should he seem so far away? Why should he exist only in books and pictures? Why couldn’t children see him, speak to him, and experience the wonder of Santa in person?
So Edgar had a Santa suit made.
In December of 1890, he put it on and appeared inside his store. On the surface, it could have looked like a clever holiday promotion. Edgar was a merchant, and Christmas was an important season for business. A man dressed as Santa Claus was bound to get attention. But what happened next went far beyond advertising.
Children believed him.
They did not see a shopkeeper in a costume. They saw Santa Claus standing right there in front of them. One man who saw Edgar as Santa when he was a child remembered the moment many years later. He described walking through the store and suddenly seeing Santa in the aisle. Then Santa came over and spoke to him. For a child who had only known Santa from stories, it must have felt as though a dream had stepped into real life.
Word spread quickly. Families began coming to Brockton so their children could see him. Some arrived by train from Boston and Providence. Others came from nearby cities and towns. Imagine being one of those children, bundled in a winter coat, holding a parent’s hand, traveling because someone had said Santa Claus was waiting in a store in Brockton.
Today, the department store Santa feels like a familiar part of the holiday season. We know the routine: the line, the decorations, the nervous child, the whispered wish list, the photo that ends up on a refrigerator or tucked into a family album. But in 1890, this was something new. Santa had stepped out of the imagination and into the everyday world.
Other stores noticed. By the following Christmas seasons, more retailers began adopting the idea. Over time, department store Santas appeared in cities across the country, and eventually the tradition became woven into American Christmas culture. What began with one man in one store became a ritual that millions of families would come to know.
But the most touching part of the story is not simply that James Edgar is remembered as the first known department store Santa. It is that the role seemed to fit the man. Accounts of Edgar describe him as generous and community-minded. He helped children who needed medical care, gave opportunities to young people who needed work, and was remembered for caring about the people around him. Maybe that is why children responded to him so strongly. The beard and red suit may have created the picture, but Edgar gave it heart.
There is a quote often connected to Edgar’s view of Santa Claus. He reportedly could not understand why such a wonderful figure should live so far away at the North Pole and only visit children once a year. Santa, he believed, should be closer to them.
That simple idea is what made his moment last.
James Edgar did not invent Santa Claus. He did not set out to create a national tradition. He likely thought he was adding a bit of Christmas cheer to his store and giving children something to enjoy. But sometimes the smallest gestures become larger than anyone expects. A costume, a smile, and a little imagination helped change the way American children experienced Christmas.
The twist of fate is that Colonel Jim may have believed he was creating a holiday moment. Instead, he helped create a memory that would outlive him by more than a century. Every child who sits with Santa, every whispered wish, every nervous smile, every family photo traces back, in some small way, to the idea that Santa should not feel so far away.
And one December in 1890, in the aisle of a department store in Brockton, Massachusetts, James Edgar helped bring him closer.
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Yankee Magazine / New England Today — “Where Was the First Department Store Santa Claus?”
This source recounts the James Edgar story, including his 1890 Santa appearance in Brockton, Massachusetts, and the way children traveled to see him.
New England Historical Society — “James Edgar Invents the Department Store Santa on a Whim in 1890”
This source gives helpful context about Edgar being the first department store Santa with a known identity, while also noting that other stores claimed earlier Santa appearances.
International Santa Claus Hall of Fame — “James Edgar”
This source identifies Edgar as a charter member and describes his 1890 appearance inspired by Thomas Nast’s Santa illustrations.