The Bruce Building, which stood across the street from the Jeffersontown Hardware building on Watterson Trail, was a three-story edifice constructed in 1907 by J.C. Bruce, a man who was "thoroughly interested in everything that was for the good of the town." The building housed many important local businesses over the years, including The Jeffersonian Newspaper office which opened in 1908, the Jeffersontown Library which opened in 1911, Oatey Drug Co., and Kozy Korner, to name just a few. In the early 1900s, Mr. Bruce often lent use of his building space to various clubs and organizations free of charge for meetings, shows and dances, and the building quite often served as a community center or town hall when a great deal of space was needed.

Mr. Bruce was born in 1861 and moved to Jefferson County in the 1880s, where he took up farming. In 1900 he became a contractor and in addition to constructing many homes and businesses around Jeffersontown, he was also responsible for building "some of the finest turnpikes in Jefferson County." He was a stockholder and director of many enterprises, including the Jefferson County Bank, the Jeffersontown Creamery Company, the Citizen's Telephone Company, and the Jefferson County Produce Exchange.