Capitol Stationery was founded in 1922 by Alexander and Sadie Agronick. They located their business at the base of Weybosset Street in downtown Providence right in the heart of the financial district. Working together they built their enterprise over the next decade into a large and profitable business. As the sole distributor of R.C. Allen typewriters and adding machines in New England, they received a commission on every machine sold by every dealer in the region.

Having apprenticed and then working as a bookkeeper in area banks, Alexander used his expertise to create a series of ledger sheets that he named the A Series. The AL-1 fold-over ledger sheet was soon copied by other companies and became one of the most popular trial balance bookkeeping forms in the industry. Capitol Stationery was still selling these sheets up until the early 1980s.

In 1935, with the business flourishing, Alexander suddenly became ill with Leukemia and soon passed away. With a thriving business and three young children, Sadie resolved to keep the business going to support herself and her family. Things were going as well as could be expected when the great hurricane of 1938 blew into town and filled their Webyosset Street building with water right up to the ceiling. Sadie and her oldest daughter Beatrice had to be rescued from the second floor by boat.

Her business in ruins, Sadie again set about rebuilding her life. Re-stocking the store, she tried to maintain business as usual. However, since insurance did not cover floods, the debt she incurred nearly bankrupted the business. With only her common sense to guide her Sadie figured out a way to survive. Even though it took almost 30 years, she, with the aid of her son Raymond, worked hard and finally paid that debt off in full in 1965.

Today, the business is run by Sadie's grandson Alex, the third generation to run the business. Alex took over when his father Raymond passed away in 1996. Having worked in the business his entire life, Alex is committed to serving his customers with the same high standards set by his parents and grandparents.