| Franklinville
has had a rather amazing mercantile history. The
numbers and varieties of businesses that have been run in this
community since its beginning defy description or enumeration. Some
lasted for many years, including the Locke Robson Department Store which
had its home in the extremely old building on the northwest corner of
the intersection of North Main Street with Elm Street.
For our purposes here we choose to follow the history
of one store
begun in Cadiz which evolved into what some residents will still
remember as The Wallace Store.
George H. Chandler was born in Franklinville November
8, 1844, a
son of Andrew Chandler who ran a general store in Cadiz (a hamlet in the
Town of Franklinville).
After his father died in 1867, twenty two year old
George tookup
his work as head of the family, assisted by his younger brother Andrew.
This included running the store in Cadiz. The two brothers, having now
founded the firm of Chandler Bros., continued to run the business for
some years. When it became apparent that Franklinville was becoming the
hub of business they bought a lot on south Park Square and built a new
store. (This location is the first lot west of the Town Hall (Morgan
Hall) lawn. Fire having destroyed their first building on that lot in
1883, they built the structure which still stands there. It was not,
however, as large a building as it now is.
On June 1, 1890 twenty one year old Arthur M. Farwell,
who already
had one year of experience as a clerk, began working steadily for
Chandler Bros. in their store which had now expanded to include dry
goods. The firm name was changed to Chandler Bros. & Farwell after A.
M. Farwell bought a one third interest in 1897. In 1901, when George H.
Chandler died, Andrew Chandler and A. M. Farwell became equal partners.
In 1905 Andrew Chandler died. Mr. Farwell then bought the other half of
the business and became sole proprietor.
Farwell began building on to his store until he had
over five
thousand square feet of floor space, carrying an incredible stock of
merchandise for a village store. Depending on the season of the year he
employed from seven to fourteen people.
Apparently a very progressive man in his thinking, he
always
carried the latest items, some of which were displayed
in the plate glass showcases, others in fine wood
cabinets or on wooden counters.
He did not stint on equipment either. He had a freight
elevator,
a cash carrier (the office was on a second floor balcony
which overlooked the store), private telephone exchange,
and public toilets.
In 1926 Howard and Katharine Wilson started working in
the Farwell
Store. A. M. Farwell died in September of 1937. Eventually the store came
under the absentee ownership of a man from Arcade, was renamed The
Wallace Store, and was managed by Howard and Katharine Wilson.
The association of Howard & Katharine Wilson with
the five and ten
cent store under the name and style of The Wallace Store spanned a total
period of fifty one years. Then they retired and the store went out of
business.
Another landmark business had disappeared from the
local scene.
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