In 1878 at 79 Asylum Street Brown & Gross Booksellers and Stationers were next door neighbors to clothiers Covey & Smith, later Smith, White & Co. Brown & Gross moved its location around the city several times and additionally went through several name changes throughout its long history.

The bookseller started in 1835 and lasted until 1993 when it closed down permanently under the name of Huntington’s. In 1846 the partners and owners at the time, Brown and Parsons, moved their business to the corner of Main and Asylum streets. Parsons left the business only a few years later in 1852, while Flavius Brown remained at the helm. He was joined by William Gross in 1858, forming Brown & Gross. According to scholar Dan Sterner, at this location on March 6, 1860, presidential candidate, Abraham Lincoln, an avid reader, visited the store after making a speech the night before in the city. While visiting the bookstore he met with Connecticut Republican Gideon Welles, who would later become the Secretary of the Navy in Lincoln’s administration.

In 1869 the store moved to 77-79 Asylum Street and is the location where Clemens would often visit. He spent time entertaining customers in the backroom of the store telling various stories or humorous tales not meant for polite society. In fact, one customer called them, “unsuitable for Sunday school.”

Flavius Brown was also the treasurer for the city of Hartford and worked from his office located in the back of the bookstore, diverting his attention from the book business. This led to William Gross taking responsibility for the day-to-day operations and management of the company. Flavius Brown’s died in 1880, and Gross took on a new partner, Leverett Belknap. Belknap first began working at Brown & Gross in 1864 at just thirteen years old, and ultimately rose to become a part owner.

Throughout its time in Hartford, this bookstore was considered the place to go to purchase books and stationery. Local luminaries of the time including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Charles Dudley Warner, Horace Bushnell, Lydia Sigourney, Joseph Twichell, William Gillette, and of course Samuel Clemens, all visited the bookstore.