Big D Building Center was founded in 1921 by D. C. Dawkins and his wife. The company was known as the DeWitt C. Dawkins Building Supply Company. In 1929, Dawkins relocated to the intersection of West Beaver Street and Myrtle Avenue. The company operated successfully as an architectural specialty supply house for twenty-five years. After World War II, Big D Building Center diversified into general building materials. By that time, three sons in the second generation were beginning to make their mark on the company. Through a new home building division, they built hundreds of homes in the Jacksonville area. The building supply company was used to supply materials to our own building operation as well as numerous other local builders and developers