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Photographer~JP Hearn
James P Hearn served the photographic needs of Spartansburg, Waterford and Union City for several years starting in about 1875. This news article from the Titusville Herald, October 18, 1895 mentions Hearn. He likely had a small shop above one of the stores on Main Street where he worked a few days each month. Hearn was born in Devonshire, England in 1846. He immigrated to Canada in 1872 and studied photography there. He maintained a studio in Union City, rebuilding following a fire in 1879. He is included in the 1884 version of the History of Erie County: Here are some examples of Hearn’s photography in what was known as…
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Piggly Wiggly
Grocery stores in the late 1800s and early 1900s, usually had clerks who would get the groceries for customers and bring them to a counter for them. Self-service stores came along later. One of the first to operate as self-service, was Piggly Wiggly. Here is the story of the first Piggly Wiggly stores according to Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/bizarre-story-piggly-wiggly-first-self-service-grocery-store-180964708/ Piggly Wiggly came to Spartansburg in about 1934 on Main Street-probably replacing the Red & White Store-1 store in from the corner with Water Street. The manager was Laurence Winsor. His employees included Clair Lindsey, Mabel Schreckengost and Miss Helen Bates. The Piggly Wiggly sponsored contests- one prize was $5 and one…
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Hardware: Most’s to Bova’s
In 1968, the hardware that had been owned and run by Fern Beale and the Bates, was purchased by Herbert Most and his wife Marlott who had come to the US from Germany in 1951. They owned the store until 1989. The store was in the same location built by Leon Morris in 1899. As with all the previous owners, the hardware was an important part of the community. Collections for the March of Dimes, Red Cross and local fund-raising were made at the store. Displays for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and school teams were often found in the windows. In 1971, yet another fire destroyed a business on the…
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Dooher Hardware and Grocery
Peter Joseph Dooher (PJ) and his wife Flora (Whaley) came to Spartansburg before 1910. He served as a depot operator and telegrapher for the Pennsylvania Railroad from about 1910 until he retired about 1940. During part of this time, he also owned and managed, with his family, a grocery and hardware store in town. The store was in what was known at the time as the Winans Block. (In 2017, that building houses Walton’s Cabin and The Spartansburg Pharmacy.) The building was constructed following the 1898 fire that destroyed the north side of Main Street. This picture shows the gasoline pump that Mr. Dooher had installed in 1921 according to…
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Rexford Drug Store
On the southwest corner of Main Street and Mechanic Street, a large brick building was erected after the 1878 fire that destroyed both sides of the Main Street business district. Initially, this building housed the CW Kinney grocery store, later called the Diamond Grocery. About 1911, the store became a drug store and jewelry store owned by the Rexford family with partners. One of these partners was BL (Bert) Miller who purchased a business from CH Gabriel in about 1907. More can be found about BL Miller in an article about him. The druggists, Rexford and Allen were involved in some legal difficulties in 1914. Morphine was sold in an…
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BL (Bert) Miller-Druggist
BL Miller came to Spartansburg from Williamsport in Summer, 1905 having purchased the business of CH (CA) Gabriel at auction, following the failure of the Spartansburg Bank. (Gabriel was a guarantor of the bank) . He had several years of experience as a druggist and advertisements and articles indicated his success. During this time, another drug store, owned by the Rexfords, was also operating in Spartansburg. In about 1907, Miller and Rexford became partners and Miller purchased a large storefront on the southwest corner of Main and Mechanic Streets (built following the 1878 fire by the Kinneys) that had been the SpartaBargain Store. Rexford and Miller combined their businesses in…
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Evert Frost-Watches and Jewelry
In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Everett (Evert) Frost and wife, Edna, lived in Spartansburg where he owned a watch and clock repair and jewelry business. His store was on Main Street. Mr. Frost advertised in the Spartansburg Sentinel, in some creative ways. Everett was raised in Little Cooley and had a clock shop in Riceville prior to the one in Spartansburg. He and Edna had one child, a son Ivan who died at age 11 when the family had moved to Fredonia, NY. The three are interred at Rose Hill Cemetery. It seems that he was divorced and re-married (Bessie Sherlock) after leaving Spartansburg. He adopted Bessie’s 2…
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Gustav Schmelzer Shoes and Boots
With thanks to Gustav’s Great Grandson, Robert for sharing information and photos of Gustav and some of his tools and wooden travel chest. Gustav A. Schmelzer was a prominent and respected merchant and tradesman in Spartansburg for 37 years. He was born in Bavaria (at that time it was separate from Germany) and had 3 brothers. Gustav served his country and was wounded in the Franco-Prussian War, after which he came to America. Two of his brothers, Emil and Franz also came to the US and settled in Buffalo and Erie respectively. He had just begun business, working in a building on the north side when the 1878 fire destroyed…
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Goldsteins’ Mercantile
With the mottos “Live and Let Live” and “A Satisfied Customer is the Best Advertisement” Goldstein’s Mercantile operated in Spartansburg from 1868 until 1915. The business was started in 1868 by Joseph Goldstein and his wife Libbie who were Russian immigrants. Mr. Goldstein was a well-respected merchant who also owned the Tyler Tannery from 1889 until 1891. When Joseph died in 1899, the business continued under Libbie’s name and managed by his son Abe. Abe was 18 at the time of his father’s death and had planned to attend Medical School. Under the name L. Goldstein, the store continued to prosper and to provide for the Dry Goods needs of…
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Winans / Morris / Beal / Bates Hardware
AV Winans came to Spartansburg in about 1865 and established a butcher shop with his brother, SA Winans. Two years later he and his father-in-law purchased hardware stores owned by Alsdorfs and by CM Hopkins. AV Winans combined the 2 hardware stores into a building near the railroad track (northeast side of Main Street). This building was destroyed in the 1898 fire which burned the businesses on the NE side of Main from the tracks to Water Street. Shortly after the fire, he constructed a brick building (fire-resistant materials were required by city ordinance) on that site and continued with his business. This article from a 1908 edition of the…
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Early Hardware Stores (Alsdorf / Burt / Thompson / Hilliker)
Hardware stores have served an important role in all small communities by providing those items that could not easily be crafted by individuals on their homesteads. Spartansburg has had many merchants who met the needs for various types of hardware. Blacksmiths were among the first to provide help with production and repair of metal tools and they would work with the merchants selling metal goods. One of the first hardware stores recorded in Spartansburg was the store built by Abram Alsdorf (Alsdurf) in 1874. This store was among those lost to the 1878 fire that destroyed all of the business district. An article in 1882 reported that Mr. Alsdorf was…
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Platt’s (Akins, Jude, Eldred and Thompson, Davis and Hyde, Platt & Steadman) Mill
Platt’s Mill on Mill Street beside the dam is the longest operating business site in Spartansburg. It was the original grist mill site begun by the Akins brothers in the 1830s on land purchased from Judge Barlow. The Akins also had a saw mill on the west side of Oil Creek. The mill was in a great location when the railroad came through town, and a siding from the main line to the mill further established its prominence. This portion of a map from 1867 shows the location of the saw and grist mills at that time. This 1876 map shows that the property for the grist mill had transferred…
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Akins Brothers Begin Business in Spartansburg
In the 1830’s The Akins brothers, Andrew and Aaron, opened a Saw Mill and a Grist Mill on the East and West Side of Oil Creek. The Grist mill was on the site of the current Platt’s Mill. In 1837, Andrew Akin opened a General Store in Spartansburg. He employed Eli Catlin as a clerk. Catlin also purchased, surveyed and laid out the plan for the village.
