Tupelo Hardware

Tupelo Hardware Co. is a store in Tupelo, Mississippi, best known for selling Elvis Presley his first guitar.

History

Tupelo Hardware Co. was originally founded by George H. Booth in 1926 in a building across the street from its current location. Throughout most of the company's history, it has served its customers from its three-story brick, Main Street location in the historic downtown district of Tupelo, Mississippi.

Elvis Presley

Gladys Presley brought her son Elvis to Tupelo Hardware Co. in January 1945 to buy him a birthday present. Elvis would have preferred a rifle, but his mother succeeded in buying a guitar instead. The boy strummed the new guitar for a while, before his mother paid $7.75 and a 2% sales tax.