The Humble Store
Many of the places I visit and document have been abandoned and largely forgotten. It's hard to find their history. Many comments are, "Please save; Restore." So imagine how happy I was to be invited by Rebecca Orcutt to visit a store that "...has been at the center of life for the people of Griffiths Corner, Oldhams, Acorn, Kinsale and surrounding areas of Eastern Westmoreland County for many years" And that has been saved, renovated, and is still operating.
Rebecca is not only an entrepreneur but an astute historian, and has provided me with a plethora of historical background.
“English Store has been at the center of life for the people of Griffiths Corner, Oldhams, Acorn, Kinsale and surrounding areas of Eastern Westmoreland County for many years. Life in the “Neck” has its own unique quality. The simplicity of a rural agricultural existence coupled with life on the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay have created a fascinating and diverse culture. The country stores of the late 19th and early 20th centuries became significant hubs for meeting the needs of local daily life, offering a place to spend time with neighbors and support local commerce and trade by purchasing necessary goods and supplies. Our mission is to rejuvenate and restore English Store to as close to its original condition as possible, and make it relevant again as a unique retail establishment. As we have begun to share our noble intentions with various folks in the community, we have discovered a groundswell of support from people who fondly recall finding everything from penny candy to popsicles, hardware to chicken feed at English Store. Their memories inspire us to recreate a place where neighbors can gather once again to sit on the front porch and share their tales of the cows that got out of the fence and the fish that jumped out of the boat. Hear Ye! Hear Ye! The old country store is making a comeback at Griffiths Corner.”
Nov 1934 - Lawrence Chinn Edwards standing in front of counter
“English store was purchased by my Father John Robert Settle Jr. on May 3, 1990 from Frances H. English Sanders & L. Wainwright Sanders. My father was an antique dealer and set up his shop here and mainly worked by appointment. The store had mainly been used for storage and stood vacant for some time at the time of my father’s purchase. The store came to me when my father passed away Jan of 2016.”
“The store property has passed through many generations of the English family starting with Samuel W. English (1816-1865). The store property and surrounding farms can be traced back to the families of the original Griffiths who arrived in Westmoreland County in 1651 or 1653 , as well as the families of Cameron, English, Cox, and Captain William Middleton and son Colonel William Middleton of the 111 VA Militia of the War of 1812. Farms that were connected to the little hamlet of Griffiths Corner and the English Family/Store from 1838 forward include Bruce’s (100 acres sold to Samuel English in 1840), Cameron Farm, Locust Farm, Elba, Cox Farm which was the original land for Elba schoolhouse, The Home Place and Hill Top Farm.”
This was the store front on Valentines Day 2019 before Rebecca and Jonathan began the renovation.
The English Store (named after Samuel W. English (1816-1865) on whose property the store was built) was built in 1890 by families whose ties to the land date back to 1653. It's been cited in the “Survey of Architectural Resources of Westmoreland County VA” prepared by Historic and Architectural Resources of Leesburg,VA dated June 13, 2001, as being a "wonderful example" of country stores still standing in the Northern Neck.
The ribbon cutting and opening of the store October 15, 2022.
In getting photographs of the store I wanted to avoid shots with customers in the image, which was challenging as the store is constantly filled with people.
I was intrigued by Rebecca’s choice of a name for the store - Humble. She told me she chose the name "Humble" for several reasons but one was, "Humble represents all the previous generations that have come before us who started this community in most cases from simple beginnings."
