Sun sets on Sears: Now just a nothingburger, once-mighty retailer swayed Stockton sprawl

THE GRIM REAPER of Retail finally came for the Stockton Sears store, which will close on Aug 16. It may not seem like it now, but that moth-eaten store had a huge impact on Stockton.

It shouldn’t be overstated — there were other factors — but Sears’ early 1960s relocation from East Oak Street to the growing northside turbocharged Stockton’s northward sprawl.