The Lorenz family's work in Perry County's shoe business began when Gottfried and Johanna Lorenz came to America and settled in what is now Farrar, Missouri, in 1840. Gottfried's son Friedrich August and grandson Emmanuel followed in his footsteps. Emmanuel eventually built his son Joseph Lorenz a two-room shoe shop in Farrar in 1910. Joseph and his wife, Frieda Bachmann, lived for a time in Friedheim, then moved to Perryville with their five children to take advantage of the town's schools. There they first moved into a shop across from Kiefner Lumber Company in the old Faherty Building at the northeast corner of N. Jackson and North Street. After welcoming daughter Joan in 1931, they moved across from Rozier's store into the old Weber building, now demolished, and in 1951 purchased the present Lorenz Shoe Store at 17 West St. Joseph Street. Joseph's son Roy, his wife Doris, and their family became the next two owners of the store in 1966, and two more generations of the family continue to work there. The Lorenz Shoe Store has been part of Perry County's commercial history for more than 113 years.