(Photo by Calvin Shepherd - Use By Permission)
Alderson West Virginia - A History
Alderson’s Businesses
On
November
18,
1919,
the
Alderson
Chamber
of
Commerce
was
organized.
This
organization
of
the
town's
business
and
professional
men
served
the community well for fourteen years.
It
helped
in
getting
the
Reformatory
in
Alderson
and
there
is
substantial
doubt
whether
the
Reformatory
would
be
in
Alderson
now
if
the
Chamber
of
Commerce had not worked so hard to get it here. In fact, the Chamber raised the money to buy the land.
In
every
civic
problem
imaginable
the
Chamber
of
Commerce
had
a
hand.
Alderson
profited
from
the
work
of
the
public-spirited
men
who
worked
so
long and hard for the town.
The
first
president
of
the
Alderson
Chamber
of
Commerce
was
L.
E.
Johnson
and
the
first
secretary
was
J.
Albert
Rigg.
During
the
years,
these
two
men
and
J.
N.
Alderson.,
T.
J.
Woodson,
O.
D.
Massey,
H.
B.
Rowe,
E.
Chase
Bare,
J.
W.
Johnson,
M.
F.
Forbell,
Dr.
C.
P.
Nash,
J.
M.
Alderson,
Carl
B.
Eades,
George
Werkheiser,
W.
L.
McCoy,
O.
C.
Carter,
Max
W.
Miller,
W.
W.
Stevens,
R.
F.
Henry,
E.
H.
Warren,
F.
G.
Lobban,
J.
Frank
Nash,
C.
E.
Staton,
J.
W.
Raine
and
others
all
worked
for
the
good
of
Alderson.
In
1933
the
organization
languished
and
died.
While
it
lived,
the
Chamber
published advertising of Alderson, and in 1932 put out an attractive brochure of Alderson.
Realizing
the
need
for
an
active
civic
organization
to
voice
the
town’s
advantages
and
further
its
well-being,
the
Alderson
Business
Development
Corporation
was
organized
April
29,
1960.
Since
then
it
has
published
a
beautiful,
illustrated
booklet
called
Alderson,
West
Virginia,
A
Study
of
Industrial Potential. There were fourteen industrial sites mapped and photographed, all near Alderson. It has a well written description of Alderson.
Presently,
the
Alderson
Business
Development
Corporation
is
sponsoring
an
increase
in
berry
culture,
particularly
strawberries,
for
which
there
seems
to
be
an
almost
inexhaustible
market.
The
organization
is
eager
to
help
in
business
or
civic
advancement.
Presently
it
is
working
hard
to
get
a
large garment factory to come to Pence Springs.
The two oldest Alderson businesses are the J. M. Alderson Store and Johnson and Gwinn Hardware Store.
The
J.
M.
Alderson
Store,
a
clothing
store
for
women,
was
established
by
J.
M.
Alderson.
He
was
a
community
leader
for
nearly
fifty
years.
The
store
was
first
a
general
merchandise
store.
His
son,
J.
M.
Alderson,
III,
now
operates the business which was started in 1884. (Click on photo for larger view)
Johnson
and
Gwinn
Hardware
Store
was
started
about
the
same
time
as
the
Alderson
Store.
L.
E.
Johnson
and
George
Gwinn
were
the
original
partners.
It
was
sold
to
the
Housby
Brothers
in
1948
and
still
operates
as
Johnson
and
Gwinn
Hardware
Store.
The
Lobban
Furniture
Store
and
Lobban
Funeral
Home
were
started
in
1901
and
still
operate.
The contents contained in this series is copyrighted and the sole property of The Greenbrier Historical Society - Lewisburg, WV Used by permission - November 18, 2008
Main Index
(Photo - Ward Parker)
One
of
the
most
unusual
businesses
ever
to
operate
in
Alderson
was
a
large
magazine
agency.
W.
Lacy
Dixon
was
stricken
with
tuberculosis
in
about
1920
and
became
bedfast.
He
had
courage,
ability
and
determination.
He
started
a
magazine
subscription-by-mail
business
that
became
nationally
known
as
the
Dixon
Magazine
Agency.
The
family
lived
at
the
top
of
the
hill
on
Wolf
Creek
Road
and
in
time,
Lacy
Dixon
had
a
sizeable
staff
handling
the
large
volume
of
outgoing
and
incoming
mail.
He
directed
this
business
from
his
bed.
He
sold
subscriptions
to
every
magazine
published
in
the
United
States.
The
address,
Alderson,
West
Virginia,
was
known
in
almost
every
town
in
the
country.
Lacy
Dixon
left
Alderson
in
the
late
30’s
and
operated in Lexington, Kentucky for a time. He died a few years later.
The History of Alderson, West Virginia
From The Journal Of The Greenbrier Historical Society On Alderson, West Virginia
Written by Kenneth D. Swope - Compiled and Transcribed by Barry Worrell
Another
around
the
same
time
was
the
Woodson-Mohler
Wholesale
grocery
company
was
one
of
Alderson's
important
business
and
at
one
time
the
largest
wholesale
grocery
concern
between
Charleston
and
Richmond,
with
a
vast
market.
This
photo
in
1918
shows
the
newly
completed
third
floor
of
the
building.
Photo
by
J.
T.
McClung.
(Click on photo for larger view)
