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Patton's Grocery

    Patton’s Grocery was owned and operated by Harvey Patton. The store was built around 1920. Located on State Route 93 in Black Fork, Decatur Township, Ohio, the building stood 15 feet from State Route 93 1 mile north of Kimble Cole Road. It is located south of Olive Furnace and north of the road to Poetker Cemetery.
     The building was two stories tall. It had a tin, hip roof. Asbestos shingles were on the exterior of the walls. The story had two front entrances.

Ro-Na Theatre

Ro-Na Theatre     The Ro-Na Theatre formally opened its doors on August 9, 1949. The building cost $300,000 to build and was located in 3rd Street above Vernon Street.
     A chief feature of the new theatre was air-conditioning. The air conditioning system was designed by Russell R. Gannon Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. The system was a no draft form of air conditioning.

Roosevelt Hospital

     Roosevelt Hospital was established in 1915. Located at 321to 323 South 5th Street, the hospital served Lawrence County for only a short period of time. Dr. Dan Gray was listed as proprietor of the hospital until it closed around 1923.

Schweickart Lumber Company

   The Schweickart Lumber Company was started in the late 1800’s by Frederick Schweickart. In the early 1900’s, Frederick’s son, William, joined the family business. The father and son team went on to form Schweickart & Son. The two worked together for four years until Frederick retired.

Selby Shoe Company

    In 1875, Irving Drew began making extra fine welt shoes for women. His original location was in Portsmouth, Ohio.
     In a few years, George Selby joined Irving Drew. Together these men made women’s shoes under the name of Drew-Selby Company.
     For unlisted reasons, Selby and Drew decided not to remain as business partners. After the split, Selby opened his own shoe company named Selby Shoe Company.

S. S. Kresge Company

The S. S. Kresge Company was started by Sebastion Spering Kresge in Detroit, Michigan in 1900. Kresge’s stores were five and dime stores where everything cost 5¢ or 10¢. In fact, Kresge was a pioneer in this type of store.

Tri-State Wilbert Vault Company

    The Tri-State Wilbert Vault Company originally opened in 1925. The company was named the Tri-State Supply Company. J. S. Beddall, Dr. W. F. Marting, and James R. Paul were the founders. The company was opened because many people thought the residents of Lawrence County should have a vault to use that would not rust and would not collapse from the weight of the earth.

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