Christmas is almost here! My advice to last-minute shoppers? Shop small and local. This morning, I took my minions on a small adventure to experience a retail store the way it used to be, with a visit to the cozy and historic R. L. Brown & Company Store on Main Street in Sharpsburg, Kentucky. This establishment will soon celebrate its 150th year in business, and stepping through its front door is like a portal to the past. As my seven year old daughter exclaimed, “It’s like the olden days!”
The facade of the R.L. Brown Store in Sharpsburg, Kentucky.
The late-19th century brick building has experienced some changes over the years, but its storefront is fairly intact. The cornice, in particular, is a delight.
Peering in the window at an old carousel toy.
Large display windows – filled with an enticing array of new and old toys and other goodies – flank the central entry door. On the right (north) side of the original building is a two-bay wide addition constructed between 1893 and 1907. This addition served as Brown Tobacco Company, Independent Factory No. 28 – where plug tobacco was produced.
Early 20th century photograph showing the addition to the original building.
The inside of the store though – that is what I wanted my children to experience.
Rob Lane, owner, proprietor, and steward of the R.L. Brown Store, waits on some young customers.
Although the long countertop and glass cases that once flanked either side of the store are now gone, the shelving unfits that run up the walls are still intact, along with the pressed tin ceiling, wood floors, and hanging pendant lights. Clustered around the cash register (where the pot bellied stove once sat) is a group of comfortable chairs, the perfect spot for a visit and chat.
Earlier this year, I did just that with the owner, Rob Lane – a historian, farmer, and steward of much of Sharpsburg’s history. I sat in an old rocking chair, and felt like I’d come to the store all of my life, and seen the hub of activity of this small town. And although that’s not true, I wish everyone could sit in those chairs and drink in the quiet sensations of a way of life our society has frantically left behind. Frenzy has no place at the R.L. Brown Store.
Interior of the store in the early 20th century. Mr. Brown, Sr, is pictured.
If you look up at those shelves, you will see some items left over from the first half of the 20th century. Shoes – oh, the shoes! Stacked beneath samples of wallpaper that the store used to sell, the shoes made me want to start writing poetry. Seriously. I never knew how evocative old baby shoes could be – and the shoe boxes themselves are works of art.
Shoes from a vanished time.
Since the R.L. Brown Store opened in 1870, it has served as a clothing store, general store, and drugstore.
A mix of old and new.
And if you happen to have children in your life who like farm toys – then the R.L. Brown Store is THE place to go! Tractors, mowers, toy weedwackers – even a John Deere “mobile phone” – which I confess I purchased, although it ran counter to the olden times vibe.
There are Blue Mondays if you need something sweet (from another venerable institution down the road, Ruth Hunt Candies), University of Kentucky paraphernalia, great farm and cold-weather wear, and much, much more.
The back of the store is a child magnet.
But the best part of the store is intangible. It’s not about what you can buy, but how the store radiates a slower pace of life. You can feel the history. Echoes of past shoppers, a sense of community and connection, the pleasure of a discovery of a unique item, the exchange of news about so-and-so: none of this available in most modern retail establishments.
The R.L. Brown Store (615 Main Street in Sharpsburg) will be open today until 5 pm, and on Saturday, December 23, 2023 – and open from 1-4 pm on Christmas Eve. So take a little drive back in time. It’s worth it.
An excellent article. I would love to see the little people checking everything out. The stores like this are dying out way too fast.
Thanks for the history lesson! Sounds interesting and reminds me of the Amish stores that I used to haunt in Ohio.
That sure looks like it would be enjoyable to see.
Oh what a precious store, I wish I lived close by so I could visit, Thank you so much for posting this story and I hope your children had a happy time poking around and exploring.
I wanted to stop this year but it looked like it was closed. I used to go there with my parents who own the little A frame cabin on old hwy 11. I must go back n visit. Loved visiting geneva long ago.
I grew up in this town and bought many things here. This brings back good memories!