make women's shoes, with Alvin L. Bryan and Jerome Desnoyers also as investors. The company hired five skilled shoemakers from Rochester, New York, to start the factory in St. Louis, and it grew quickly. In 1878, it had sales of $110,000.

In 1881, it was incorporated as the Bryan-Brown Shoe Company. In 1886, the company became the Brown-Desnoyers Shoe Company, after Mr. Bryan retired. In 1893, Mr. J.B. Desnoyers also retired, and the name was changed to the Brown Shoe Company. In 1895, the