|
Attached is a picture of the Georgetown Mercantile Company Building in Georgetown, Copiah Co. , Mississippi. Taken
in 1971 before it was torn down. It had been in business up until 1953 when it was closed down. Originally it was located on the Pearl River some two miles from this location, but when the Gulf, Mobile &
Ohio Railroad built a rail line thru Georgetown, everything moved up to the railroad. The men contracted to move this building used logs as rollers and oxen to pull it as they moved it. It is said they went
bankrupt in the process of moving it and another man had to finish moving it.I do not have the date it was built or when it was moved, but I would say 1850 or earlier. The lumber was heart pine and I
still have a piece of lumber used as a shelve that is about 18" wide by 16' long still a fine piece of wood probably over 100 years old. This is where My Daddy got started about 1916 in his business and
Charles Jr. & William A. Roper Sr. were born in Georgetown while they were there before Daddy moved to Hazlehurst about 1923 to open Hazlehurst Mercantile Co.Where Bobby became the first of their
children born in Hazlehurst. Addendum: I have since found out that This Store building was probably the Brown Store referred to in most early Census reports for this area of Copiah Co., MS. So
it probably dates to at least 1840's and maybe before 1840. More on this as I find more proof. |
