The Beulah area was once dotted with small ‘country stores,’ usually found at crossroads or sites dictated by a slower mode of travel, and the need for postal services. The stores carried a small inventory of staple goods, the locations were gathering places. Enjoy a tour of 25 of our local grocery stores through history.
1880s – 1890s
Barell Bros. Commissary
4600 block of North Creek Rd.; A Commissary was owned by the Barell Brothers to support the local tie-cutting camp.
Quilley Davis Store
5721 North Creek Rd; pioneer Aquilla Davis opened the first grocery store, he was also an early road builder. Aquila Davis was also the first valley postmaster.
C. O. Everetts Refreshment Store
8920 Grand Avenue; C. O. Everetts built a dance hall upstairs with a grocery store below, it became the Alta Vista hotel. The building burned in 1911.
F.M. Berry Store
Grand Avenue; F.M. Berry had two locations (the other off of Pine Drive), he sold groceries and farmers’ supplies.
Abbott Store
5998 Pennsylvania Ave. (Near the Anderson’s Gate); C.E. Abbott built a store and ran it for a couple of years. Mr. and Mrs. James Mason and A. A. Curtis were also proprietors at this location. The building was said to have been purchased by Sam Curtis and ‘later moved to Beulah Village’ in 1910 to 8919 Grand Avenue (to become Traeber’s Store).
Couzzens Springs Store
Siloam Road near Savage Road junction; The long porch harbored a colony of dogs who never missed a chance to savagely greet every passing car; there was a full-length hitching rail, and a line of old farm implements along the fence.
F.M. Berry Store
Area of the lower (or first) park entrance. Conveniently located near his ranch (now called Triple K Ranch), Berry and wife Louella wih 10 children were productive farmers.
Elliott Store|
NE corner of Waterbarrel Road and Bible Road; Known as an early stage stop, the store was owned by the Elliott family, selling items like plug tobacco and cigarettes.
Goodpasture Store
Goodpasture Barn on Hwy. 78 West; Lee Roper and wife Jesse opened General Store with groceries of ‘all kinds’ in the early 1890s. The store included a U.S. Post Office, Lee became a postmaster in 1899. Their son Wilbur opened a second general store at the location,as well.
1898
VanOrsdale Store
Grand Avenue; Owned by Mr. VanOrsdale, who also served as the asst. postmaster. ‘Mr. Van’ stocked ‘everything that is sold at Pueblo’.
1900
Westcott Grocery Store
Grand Avenue near Beulah Inn; Mr and Mrs. C. A. Westcott’s store had a grocery and general merchandise.
Johnson and Sellers Grocers
Grand Avenue; Frank Sellers and E.M. Johnson formed a partnership in a building under construction. The grocery store offered a meat market.
1901
Park View Store & Smith’s
Pine Drive Store
8694 Pine Drive; Selma Smith and her husband Tom moved to Beulah in 1900. Selma arrived in Beulah on a stretcher, suffering from Tuberculosis. The couple initially resided in a tent on the property. Built by William Hartsock, there was a small restaurant at the east end. of the building. Every Sunday Mrs. Smith went to the Outhier Ranch to get fresh chickens to serve at Sunday dinner.
In 1941, Bill and Mildred Reynolds bought the store. Bill had been a salesman for Marshal Fields Store in Chicago. Reynolds remodeled the store, which included a switchboard until it was sold to Joe Sellers in 1956 for $1.
Next sold to Jim and Monna Bergemann who ran the store from 1974 to the late 1980s, when they sold the property to Harry and Ann Middlekamp who stuccoed over the windows and doors as it appears today.
1906
Somermont
Just east of Beulah Valley Baptist Church; A drug store, doctor’s office, telephone, and ‘The Breeze’ newspaper headquarters, and owned by Dr. F. M. Somers. The building was sold to David Otten, then James Bandy, and then to Harold Harris. The building burned in 1911.
Kearney/Donley Meat Market
Grand Avenue; Nat Kearney and Charles Donley operated a meat market.
1909
Rock Creek Stage Stop
North side of Hwy. 78 W. at the bottom of Rock Creek Hill; Owned by Charley Fehr, the store closed six years after it opened.
1914
Cedar Grove Cheese Factory
Bennett’s Store
Beside the No. St. Charles River to the east of 3R Road, approx. ½ mile from Hwy. 78 W; Built to serve area dairymen, the building still stands today. In business for 5 years, they produced three molds of Longhorn cheddar, the cheesemaker was named McCaskey. Bertha Outhier operated it for nine years.
Jim Bennett opened his store at the same location years later. He served a generation of fishermen soda, sardines, crackers and fishline; gas pump.
1919
Traeber’s Store
8919 Grand Avenue; George and Alice (Schultz) Traeber leased the building from Sam T. Curtis (see Abbot Store), purchasing it in 1922. They opened a grocery store with the post office inside. A year later, in 1923 a fire destroyed the building. They re-built and resumed operations, which included Continental gas pumps. Son Ray and his wife Pat joined them. The store was open for over 50 years, closing in 1972
The Traeber family donated items from the store to Beulah Historical Society, which are on display at the History Center at The Host, 8505 Hwy. 78 W.
1920
Burnt Mill
Intersection of Burnt Mill Road and Waterbarrel on the south side of the St. Charles. The McFedries had dances every Saturday, and then during the week, ‘Mrs. Mac’ had a supply of cigarettes and chewing tobacco she would sell in the front. The Morgans were the band that played most of the time.
Mountain View Station
5900 block of Hwy. 78 West on north side of highway; A service station with snacks, candy and soda built by George Seaman. Grandson Bernie Seaman recalls a bright light on the side of the building that could be seen from the Sand Hills outside of Pueblo. George Ware purchased the building, and moved it into the Valley in 1932, it now resides at 8695 Pine Drive.
Siloam Store
Siloam Road and Hwy. 96; Jannette Rice ran the store, post office and ‘party line’ telephone exchange.
1971
GayWay Store
8881 Grand Avenue; Bill and Robbie Graham opened a grocery store in the front of the building of the historic dance hall, selling fresh produce at the location, along with fresh hamburger and other meat products.
1982
Beulah General Store
8869 Grand Avenue; In 1972 Bill Graham started construction of the new store on the lot just east of the GayWay, building it as he could afford it. Bill designed and completed most of the construction ahead of his death in 1981. Finishing the work her father started, Caren Ermel opened the spacious new store in 1982; sister Debbie and her husband Mike Rose purchased the General Store in 1983 from mother Robbie. Beulah has been appreciative of their families’ efforts for more than 50 years now. After Mike passed in 2016, Debbie has continued the proud tradition her family with her immediate famly.
Resources:
From Mace's Hole to Beulah
Letters Written by Susie Donley Sendermann & Lela Craig
John Jacob Sease (files of Edna Simonson Roper)
Sam Sease (from files of Edna Simonson Roper)