On March 9, 1875, Charles W. DeWolfe of New London purchased a building that was built by Lewis Brigham and began using it as a store. The building switched hands from DeWolfe to Merrit Smith, who also bought the house to the west of the store. He added an apartment above the store where his grandson, G. Merrit Thompson was born in 1906. Merritt Thompson states, “My grandfather owned the store until 1907 or 1908 when he sold it to George Reynolds, who used to own the Spring Manor farm north of here. Reynolds owned it for just a short while and then my grandfather bought it back. He then sold it to a man by the name of Pierce who kept it for a year and sold it to a man named Hansen in about 1909. Hansen ran the store until October 30, 1934 when Hernberg and I went into partnership and bought him out. On July 1, 1936, I bought out Hernberg and he went across the street. When on October 1, 1963, I incorporated with my three sons, Burnham W. Thompson, George Merritt Thompson, Jr., and Byron L. Thompson.”
Mr. Thompson’s father, E. Burnham Thompson, worked for his father-in-law, Merritt Smith, for three years until the business was sold. He then worked for Hansen in 1910 and delivered groceries and grain throughout Mansfield, North Coventry, all the way to the end of Andover making as many as fifty-two stops. As you walk into the store, the northeast front corner is the original part of the store, and upon looking carefully; it is easy to see where a newer section was added by Smith at a later date. A section to the very rear, where the meat counter and office are, was added by Hansen. In this section, the post office stood for about twenty-five years until it was moved across the street in 1937. The grain shed to the east of the store was built by Mr. Smith in either 1876 or 1877, but it was closer to the road and later moved back.
55 Year Award
