This structure had a long history as a hardware and furniture store and after sitting empty for a long time was recently purchased by Moultrie native Sam Null. I had a nice conversation with Sam about his decision to move his business, Heritage Embroidery, from Moultrie to Doerun. The company does custom promotional items for customers throughout the Southeast and plans to expand.
West Broad Avenue is the main commercial area of Doerun.
Typical early 20th-century storefronts, including banks, general and grocery stores, and hardware stores, survive in varying states of repair. Locals are optimistic that some of the unoccupied examples will be saved and repurposed.
Reeves Hardware is a landmark in Clayton. They’ve been in business since 1928 and are still one of the busiest places in town.
Champion’s has been a Shady Dale landmark for many years. They even have their own independent sawmill on site.
One business still open on Depot Street is Abbeville Builders Supply. In the age of big box hardware stores, this is a miraculous survivor.
The Mission Revival style saw its greatest popularity between 1890-1915. Once relatively popular in South Georgia, few examples survive in good condition. I don’t know if this was always a hardware store; the Ace sign likely dates to the 1970s, indicating it was open until at least that time.
I believe this was razed in late 2016.
The building on the left served for many years as Marion Drugs. The Charles M. Clements building is on the right. It served as a hardware and furniture store as well as the local undertaker.
Downtown Buena Vista is a nice little town with generally well-preserved early 20th century commercial storefronts, dominated by one of Georgia’s older courthouses in the center of the square.
This place is a landmark, and a living landmark at that. The whole time I was walking around the courthouse square, cars were pulling in and out of here constantly. They had a great selection of flowers and garden plants right out front and it seemed to be the place to be in Danielsville. The first floor is a traditional hardware store while the second floor is filled with antiques.
I understand the landmark closed its doors in 2021.
Located in the 1930 Lowe Building, Poss Ace Hardware is an amazing survivor, a reminder of the days when every small town had one or two local hardware stores. The old Ford truck was an added bonus.
Washington Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Frank Fortson shared this wonderful history: “[This was] Guy Bell’s Hardware Store. The original store was just the left section. Mr. Bell later added the smaller attached section on the right, which was used by various businesses over the years (laundromat, game room, craft store). The hardware store had, what appeared to be a LOT of items, to me as a kid. Everything from baseball gloves (where I bought two) to hardware, plus just about every needed item except groceries and gas. There were stairs in the center of the store about 2/3rds way back that took you to the furniture area. In that area, he sold couches, beds, dressers, etc. Mr. Bell and his store were very popular during its day. I can remember sitting on the front steps about age 10, drinking a cold Coke from his cooler, pouring peanuts into the Coke. I also remember when Mr. Bell started selling the larger (than 6 oz) Cokes, as the price went from 5 to 7 cents. I don’t know the build date for the store, but it existed before the mid 1940s.Jane (my first cousin) and John Coleman now own the store. It has been inactive for many years.Behind the store, in the early 1900s, my grandfather ran a sawmill (among other enterprises). I suspect that the wood used to construct the northernmost store [Gilmer’s Grocery] came from that sawmill.“