Born William Irvin Westlake, the man who founded what is now Westlake Ace Hardware was better known as W.I. Westlake. He was born in 1875 near Midway in Boone County, and moved with his parents at age six to the Fort Henry neighborhood west of Huntsville. He attended a one room schoolhouse at Fort Henry and attended College Mound High School. When he was out of high school he took up farming. And when he was 29 he took a job at the Thurston Hardware Store in Clifton Hill. He remained there until he bought the Bagbys interest in the Bagby and Doyle Hardware Store in Huntsville in November of 1905. In 1908, he bought W. O. Doyle's interest in the store, and it became the Westlake Hardware Store. The store had two locations in Huntsville, the second one is the same building the Huntsville Historical Society now occupies. The same month he purchased interest in the Baby and Doyle Hardware Store he married Scottie Knox of the Clifton Hill area.
At the time of Westlake's death there were six Westlake stores in total. There was the one in Huntsville, as well as ones in Columbia. Shelbina, Brunswick and Monroe City. His son Frank would later expand the hardware chain to twenty-eight stores. Frank, also known as F.K. Westlake was born Francis Knox Westlake in 1915. W.I. and his wife Scottie had one other child, Martha Will who was born in 1923. Frank began managing his father's store in Huntsville when his father was away at the age of 12.
During the years W.I. was alive the Westlake Hardware Store made several innovations. One was aiming advertising towards women. Until that time hardware stores had aimed their ads solely towards men. But W.I. aimed many of his ads towards husbands trying to convince them to buy such things as refrigerators and washers for their wives. Later this advertising was aimed solely at women. And in 1955, Westlake Hardware stores became the first hardware stores to be self service. Until that time clerks would get merchandise for customers, but in 1955 customers were allowed to browse the Westlake stores looking at and picking out the items they wanted to buy.
W.I. Westlake was well known for his generosity often helping out his neighbors during the Great Depression. It was well known in Huntsville if you could not get a loan from the bank, W.I. would loan you money with no interest charged. In addition to the stores, he continued to operate farms, many of which are still in the Westlake family today (author's note, my father worked as a tenant for W.I. for many years). In addition to his stores and farms, W.I. served as President of the Farmers and Merchants Bank for several years, served on the school board, and was one of the founders of the Uregas Gas Company, He was a member of the Huntsville United Methodist Church, and a member of the Rotary Club. W.I. Westlake died October 2, 1959 at the age of 84 and is buried in a mausoleum in the Huntsville City Cemetery.