General Store Gallery

Nelson & Pearson, La Conner, WA 1898-9
Swedish immigrants Gus Pearson and Nels Nelson started Nelson & Pearson Groceries in 1898. The store was located on First St. in La Conner. Some of the things it offered were canned goods (peas, beans, peaches, etc.,) fresh fruit such as bananas and apples, tea and Lion Coffee, maple syrup, pots and pans and seeds.

Dickey & Stitts, Bayview, WA 1905
Bayview was started in 1886 as a logging community. Joseph.C. Stitt was the owner of a shingle mill in the area. In 1889 he and Charles.P. Dickey started a saloon together, but sold it in 1899. They then started a general store. The store would have carried goods for loggers and farmers including clothing, boots, tobacco, logging and farming tools, canned foods, and groceries. A fire in 1910 leveled most of the waterfront buildings, but the store was there in 1920.

Gilmore Bros. Mercantile Store on Edison, WA, 1888
William Gilmore, a native of Ireland, came to Edison from Seattle in 1882 and bought out the store of A.J. Edwards. It was the only merchant store in the area for years. After his death in 1900, his sons changed the name of the store to Gilmore Bros & Co. Notice the boats next to the buildings. The store was located along the Edison Slough. At high tide, medium-sized boats could go up to the back of the store. It sold a wide variety of goods to local farmers on the Samish Flats.

Nelson- Neal Company Store, Montborne, WA 1908
Partners John Nelson and Frank S. Neal of the Nelson-Neal Lumber Company ran this general store for the little logging community of Montborne, located along the shore of Big Lake. At the time of this picture, it had a population of 150 and included everyone who worked for the company and a few farmers. The store had a post office and like many general stores was a gathering place for the settlement. It carried all the essentials a logger would want including clothing, dry goods, tools, groceries, and other sundries. Furniture could be also ordered through the store.

W.O. Beddall J.V. Storefront and Post Office Clear Lake, WA 1907
The Mountain View Grocery Store was built by Jake Bartl around 1888. It housed the Clear Lake Post office. W.O Beddall later became postmaster and owner of the store. In 1906, he built this new block building for a department store. It cost $5000.00 to build. The post office entry was on the south side of building on the east end. Hotel and boarding were on the second floor.

Van Horn General Merchandise, Van Horn, WA 1900
When the railroad came to the Upper Skagit Valley in around 1900, Jesse Van Horn built a sawmill, hotel and a general store. He offered a full range of grocery items plus clothing, hardware, sporting goods. The people in the area were often "cash poor.". There were few jobs in the winter, so customers at the store got their goods on credit, paying the store when they could. The store burned in the 1920s, but was rebuilt.

G.B. Cockreham General Merchandise, c. 1900 Hamilton, WA
There is little information about this store. Hamilton was first settled in the 1880s and served the logging firms and the coal and iron mines in the area. In 1907 the store is listed in the Polk Directory as Cockreham & Morell, grocers and hardware. Most likely it sold clothing, mining tools, tobacco, lanterns, reading materials, and canned goods. Its owners lived at the Washington Hotel, one of several in the little town of 380.

Pressentin Bros. Store, 1923 Marblemount, WA
The Pressentin brothers Paul and Otto started their store in 1898. They supplied loggers and miners with "anything they could get"- tools, work clothing, and groceries. Paul was the postmaster for Marblemount, so the store had a post office. The store was in business for many years, changing hands during the 1920s. The building is still there and now known as the Log House Inn.