Louis Friedlander came to the Colquitt County area about 1907, when he was only 16 years old, and began his merchant career as a peddler with a pack on his back. After a year of walking the area, he acquired a mule and wagon, which enabled him to do business over a larger area. Within a reasonable time he had established himself as a dependable peddler who made many friends, with whom he would often spend nights. By 1908, he had saved enough to open a small 25-foot store at this location. At first known as the Bargain Store, it was soon changed to Friedlander's. Though he was hardly more than a boy with very limited capital, his faith, energy, and business ability expanded the original store into one of the major department stores in South Georgia. In 1935, Louis Friedlander realized a dream when he razed four individual buildings and built a fine modern building, which opened in 1936 with more than 30,000 square feet of floor space on four split-level floors. The building is one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the state. Louis Friedlander was an exemplary citizen of Moultrie: a merchant, banker, developer, farmer, visionary, philanthropist, family man, and a friend to all.