The hardware store of Charles Kruse was located on Broadway Street in Richmond.

Kruse was born in 1872 in West Chicago and came to Richmond in 1897. There he bought the store of Milan Hicks Hicks previously had been in the hardware business in Richmond for 25 years. Kruse operated his business from that location for several years then built his own building in 1905.

The store carried a wide variety of merchandise. He offered pots and pans, furnaces, gas engines, harness, paint, tires and sporting goods. In an ad he advises: “Electric Refrigeration is here to stay – buy yours now.”