The company known today as Johnston & Murphy was founded in 1850 by William J. Dudley, an immigrant English shoemaker who established his shoe factory in Newark, New Jersey. Dudley teamed with James Johnston in 1880 and continued to manufacture high-quality shoes. When Dudley died in 1882, William H. Murphy became Johnston’s new partner and the company became Johnston & Murphy. In 1957, Johnston & Murphy moved to its present location in Nashville, Tennessee.