Jackson County GaArchives History .....History of Harmony Grove-Commerce, Chapter 9 1949
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CHAPTER IX
MERCANTILE DEVELOPMENT

   Among the first business houses was a store run by S. M. Shankle, just
opposite his home on the corner of Sycamore and Cherry Streets, in which he and
Dr. W. B. J. Hardman conducted a business about 1848-1850 or later. After the
war Mr. Shankle built a two-story wooden building on the site of the present
post office, fronting the depot. He was engaged in business at this place until
his death in 1885.

   C. W. Hood conducted a mercantile business just where the Blue Bell Overall
Plant is located. His residence was just above the Montgomery Warehouse now
occupied by the overall people.

   In this house Mr. C. J. Hood was born, who in later years tore this house
down and moved it to the upper end of Broad Street and rebuilt it according to
the original pattern. The store, the residence and adjoining lots of land were
sold to W. C. Hood after C. W. Hood had bought the Hardy Minish tract of land on
the west side of the railroad. Mr. W. C. Hood lived in the home and ran the
store formerly owned by C. W. Hood.

   Following down State Street was the property owned by C. D. Stark and P. O.
Pittman and was occupied by Frank Stansby, a harness maker, and later bought by
C. D. Stark who conducted a general store until he built the present brick
building. The store owned by the late Mrs. P. O. Pittman, in which Davis & Nix
ran a mercantile business for several years, was the property of Mrs. E. J.
Riley, as was also the dwelling in the rear.

   Next was the first brick building on State Street, erected about 1886 by John
H. Gunnells. Gunnells afterward sold it to B. B. Hawks and later to Dr. W. B.
Hardman, it is now owned by Mrs. Wilda Poteat.

   Power and Williford, in 1891, erected a large brick building on State Street
on the site where the Blue Bell Overall Plant is now located and conducted a
large mercantile business until the death of W. B. Power in 1904. Afterwards, it
became the firm of Williford, Burns & Rice, who conducted a business until the
real estate was sold to the overall people.

   About 1880, W. A. and J. T. Quillian moved to Harmony Grove, built a wooden
store building where the Belk-Gallant Company is now located. This wooden store
building was rolled to the present site of the McConnell Ten Cent Store, owned
by the late J. T. Quillian, on which site was built the present brick building.
On the original site was erected the present brick building, now occupied by
Belk-Gallant Co., in which the Quillian Brothers operated a business until the
death of W. A. Quillian. Just below this building was a wooden structure
occupied by Kimsey Smith for some years and later bought by L. J. Sharp. On
Broad Street near the depot was a store house built by W. C. Hood which was
occupied for sometime by W. L. Williamson and T. F. Key. Later, it was used as a
sample room of the Alhambra Hotel. Next was W. W. Jordan's Furniture Store,
adjoining which was a building occupied by Burgess and Allen. Next was the T. E.
Key building erected by Marcus Jacobs.

   In 1882, W. B. J. Hardman bought from W. C. Hood a lot 100 feet square on
which is now the Hardman Hardware Co. and the Hardman Drug Store and the street
between. The original Hardware and Drug Store were built in 1882 and was the
first brick building in Harmony Grove except Ike Wilbanks' small brick store
adjoining, erected in 1879. From that point to Central Avenue were three wooden
store buildings owned by J. I. Pittman and C. W. Hood, one of which was for a
number of years the Harmony Grove Post Office. The others were occupied by
various parties in the mercantile business, among them A. H. Boone Furniture and
Alexander and Teasley. The postmaster in 1880 was W. J. Goss who had served in
the later seventies. He was succeeded by Taylor Gordon who continued the post
office in this same building until the brick drug store was built by L. C.
Hardman and the post office was moved to this new building.

   Farther down. Broad Street was located the two story wooden building of W. T.
Harber & Brother. Adjoining the Harber building was the Jesse P. Wood property,
in the triangle of which two or three wooden buildings were located. The town
well was located at the angle of Broad and State Streets. This well was used
more or less by the public for several years, possibly twenty-five.

   The only other store building at this time was the two-story wooden building
of C. W. Hood. This building was used by him from the time of the Civil War
until about 1884. He built the brick building where the Andrew Jackson Hotel has
been erected. Just in front of this, across the road, was a large hickory tree
and near the railroad right of way was a well that was used by the public, as
the customers came from the country to trade.

   There were no other stores, or public buildings, on the west side of the
railroad except Eckles' Wagon and Buggy Shop near the Northeastern Bank location.

   The town was incorporated in 1884. The side walks along Main Street, now
Broad, and Carnesville Street, now State, were laid with plank floors in front
of the stores until the brick store buildings began to be erected.

   Soon after the incorporation of the town there opened an era of brick store
buildings. The first store was Ike Wilbanks' in 1879, then the Hardman Store and
the L. C. Hardman Drug Store and the Post Office adjoining in 1882. The C. W.
Hood building where the Andrew Jackson Hotel site is, and the Harber building
where the Rogers Store is, were erected in 1884. The building known as the Key
Building was erected by Marcus Jacob in 1885. The Burgess and Allen buildings
adjoining it on the south side were also built in 1885. Marcus Jacob who erected
the Key Building was a German Jew who later returned to Germany where he died in
the late World War at the age of 87.

   Between the years of 1885 and 1890, we find constructed the following
buildings on the triangular corner of Jesse P. Wood, on North Broad and State
Streets: On the opposite side of State Street was the John Gunnells' building,
later known as the B. B. Hawks' building, now owned by the W. B. Hardman Estate
and occupied by Belk-Gallant Company.

   Beginning with the next decade, 1890 to 1900, there were erected quite a
number of brick or rock buildings. Among them was Power and Willif ord's large
store, now the Blue Bell Overall Plant. Next, the Hood block of brick buildings
on North Elm Street, the main building being two-storied was the first home of
the Northeastern Bank Co., which company was established in 1892. Before this,
the business men did their banking mostly with Jim White of Athens.

   Later, the following buildings were erected on the north side of State
Street: C. D. Stark, P. O. Pittman and Dr. E. F. Adair, adjoining the B. B.
Hawks' building. Adjoining the Adair building was the Quillian Bros., the L. J.
Sharp and J. N. Wood buildings, which fronted on North Broad.

   About the same time, there was a block of buildings on North Elm adjoining
the Central Hotel, known as the Jack Bennett buildings, extending to where the
Truitt Hardware was later built.

   After the Northeastern Bank Company operated about three or four years, the
new and present building was erected on its new location. This same building is
occupied by them at the present time. At the same time, Mr. C. J. Hood built a
block of buildings adjoining the bank building on the north, including the one
occupied by the Williamson Pressing Club. The Central Hotel was erected by R. A.
Eckles about 1886 and was later acquired by L. G. Hardman and was remodeled and
enlarged. Dr. L. G. Hardman built the Hardman Sanitorium in 1899-1900.

   The vacant lot on the west side of the railroad extending from T. A. Little's
livery stable, a rock building erected in 1893 and which is now the Roxy
Theater, to. Central Avenue was bought and owned by L. G. Hardman and E. P.
Eberhart which they divided, each one taking every alternate lot. The first lot
was bought by the Harmony Grove Cotton Mill, on which they erected, in 1894, a
cotton warehouse and mill office. On the next adjoining lot, Eberhart built a
livery stable operated by the Johnson Brothers, Boyd Burrus and others. This
building is now owned by J. O. and Claud Montgomery, brothers, and occupied at
present by the Little Furniture Company. Mr. Eberhart was the uncle of the
Montgomery boys.

   Adjoining this was a building erected by J. R. N. Baugh in which he operated
a smith-shop and built wagons; later it was occupied by Carson & Kemp and now
owned by Montgomery Brothers. The next adjoining building was erected by J. J.
Sheppard, in which he ran a furniture business and later sold to M. T. Sanders,
who enlarged the building and now operates an extensive furniture business.
Adjoining this is the building of Montgomery Brothers, now occupied by a ten
cent store and formerly by G. T. Jones' dry goods business. Adjoining this on
the corner of Central Avenue and Elm Street was a building known as the Post
Office and Telephone Exchange. This was the Post Office site until moved to its
present government building.

   In 1895, the two buildings on the corner of North Broad and Central Avenue
were known as the C. W. Hood and W. B. Hardman buildings, constructed with two
stories. For a number of years this corner Hood building was the location of the
L. G. Hardman & Brothers Drug Store. The first Commerce Telephone Central was
located in the rear of the building until moved across the street to the present
location. The Hardman building was occupied by the Hardman Merchandise Company
until sold to J. B. Hardman, who operated a hardware business until he entered
the insurance business. This building is now owned by Harry Jay. The C. E.
Pittman buildings, between the Jay and Harber building, were erected in 1899 and
were formerly wooden store buildings and owned by J. I. Pittman.

   The other brick stores and buildings in Commerce were erected at various
times after the name Harmony Grove was changed to Commerce.


Additional Comments:
From

HISTORY OF HARMONY GROVE - COMMERCE
JACKSON COUNTY, GEORGIA

BY
THOMAS COLQUITT HARDMAN
1810-1949




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