General Stores of Randolph Township

General Stores of Randolph Twp.
The history and development of Randolph Township is closely intertwined with owners
of the early businesses that operated within the three local villages. Let us take a look into the
history of some general stores. Even back in earlier times when families were self-sufficient on
their farms, the local grocery and dry goods store provided hard-to-find items such as oranges,
bananas, spices, baking powders, soaps, small clothing items, etc. Many times, the stores
stayed in the same family for several generations. Some were sites of village post offices.
Union: Frank and Anna Harbert operated a general store in Union during the early
1900s. A period photo of he and his wife in front of their stores appeared in the 1994 Milton
Federal Bank Calendar. The store building is still standing on the west side of Main Street, south
of Martindale Road. It was used as Hine’s Hardware Store in the 1940s and most recently has
been turned into a nail and beauty salon.
The Martindale grocery, which was situated on the East Side of Main Street at the corner
in Union opened after Harbert’s closed. Glenna Harbert married the Martindale who ran this
store. This building currently is vacant but at one time the upper floor was used by the I.O.O.F.
(Odd Fellows).
Englewood: Two early grocery/general stores come to mind in Englewood. One was the
Henry and Nancy Butterbaugh Grocery located west of St. Rt. 48/Main Street on the north side
of the National Road. Several photos of Henry, Nancy and the store taken in the early 1900s
have been donated to the society by Loren Butterbaugh.
More residents probably remember Waymire’s Grocery on the NE corner of St. Rt.
48/Main Street and National Road. A parking lot now occupies this site. Later, Zimmerman’s
Market operated near the SW corner of St. Rt. 48/Main Street and National Road.
Clayton: Vane Wagner’s General Store was located on North Main Street (now Talmadge
Road) in Clayton in the 1920s. His grocery also served as post office. The building still stands
with its sign for the Odd Fellows Hall and once operated as the Clayton Country Store. Other
early mom and pop groceries included one run by Charles Bucklew on the other side of the hill
(Kimmel Road) and the John Cruea family grocery on East Salem Street near the intersection
with Talmadge. In 2002, William Bucklew (Charles’ grandson) and his daughters from Arkansas
visited the area and they visited the site of Bucklew’s store. A Hungarian family lived there and
spoke little English but since Bill’s late wife was German, his daughters carried on the
conversation in fluent German and served as interpreters. It’s a small world.