Fire destroys 107 -year store in North Carolina

The historic 107 -year -old store, Todd General Store, in the mountainous community of Todd, North Carolina was burned on the night of February 25.

The fire chief said that six fire departments from the Ashe and Watauga counties fought the fire until the early hours of February 26.

According to Watauga Online, the fire began around 10:00 pm.

The historic building has existed for more than a century.It opened for the first time in 1914.

The store has had several owners over the years and was the oldest starting store in the Ashe County and one of the oldest general stores in the state.

The story of the store

Originally known as Cook Brothers General Store, the building was built by Walter and Monroe Cook.The general store had a wide variety of products, clothing, shoes, hardware, food and more to serve its community.

Walter then bought his brother's participation in 1917 and continued to operate the business as WG Cook Store.Walter Cook was the store owner for 43 years before selling it to Kenny Goodman, who renamed her as Goodman's Grocery.

Goodman directed the business for 20 more years before selling it too.The store then saw a change of hands a few more times.

Bob Peet bought it from Goodman and gave him the name he still has today, Todd General Store.Peet sold it to Al and Carol Shelly, who handled him for a couple of years before selling it to Dennis and Alice Dent, who operated him for another two years.

The different owners are not the only things that changed over time.Many adjustments to the building and the inner content have been made.For example, at one time, it became an antique store.

In 1985, Joe and Sheila Morgan bought the store and operated it for 17 years before Robert and Virginia Mann bought it in 2002. The store closed in 2016 until its current owners found the building in December 2018.

Owners create Gofundme

Matt and Andréa Connell are the owners of Todd's General Store, and their goal for the store was to serve the local community, which returns it to the original intention of when it opened in 1914.

The cause of the fire is still being investigated.

The owners of the general store have created a gofundme after the fire.