J. S. Stephens Store Records

Collection

Identifier: AC-836

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

J. S. Stephens Store Records includes ledgers, correspondence, digital photographs, and business licenses. In addition to serving the community’s mercantile needs, the store also served as an automobile service station that sold farm equipment, seeds and livestock feed. The store was located in Creston (Ashe County), North Carolina. The digital photographs show both the the old and new Stephens Store and the owners. Some correspondence was removed from the ledgers, along with newspaper articles from 1982-1983 about escaped convicts who took refuge at the store for a period of time and placed into folders.

Dates

1925-1998, undated

Creator

J. S. Stephens Store (Organization)

Language

All materials are in English.

Historical Note

J. S. Stephens Store in Creston, North Carolina was operated by J. S. Stephens, Sr. and his son, Joe Spencer Stephens, Jr. from the early 1920s until 1998, when the store closed.

Extent

12.5 Linear Feet

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection contains ledgers, correspondence and photographs of the J. S. Stephens Store in Creston (Ashe County), North Carolina Dating from the early 1920s to the late 1990s when the store closed, the records demonstrate country folks' mercantile needs and how important the country store was to a community.

Arrangement

These papers and ledgers are arranged chronologically.

Acquisitions Information

This collection was donated by Joyce Stephens and Jo Evelyn S. Roop in 2010. It was accessioned as AC.2010.056.

Processing Information

This was processed by Anita Elliott, March 2014. This collection was processed as part of a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The grant funded extensive processing of the backlog within the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection between 2012 and 2014.