People's Supply Company

People's Supply is significant under Criterion A-Commerce, for its role as a local general store in Silverhill, Alabama during the early 20th century. At this time, People's Supply was the only source of supply for dry goods and agricultural needs in the community. As a place where letters could be mailed and picked up, the building's importance as a nerve center for the town cannot be overstated. The building is further significant for its role in
the commercial life and development of rural Baldwin County.

People's Supply is significant under Criterion C-Architecture, as a distinctive expression of free standing gable front store architecture in Baldwin County. With its gable front roof, board and batten siding, wrap-around porch and dormers, People's Supply is a distinctive expression of the free standing gable front store type, of which few survive in Baldwin County. There are only two others, both recorded in the Baldwin County Historic Building Survey in 1986; (BA 2025), a one story frame example in Robertsdale from the turn of the century, and (BA 2066), the Baldwin Supply in Robertsdale, a virtual twin of the People's Supply, constructed c. 1903 by the same person who constructed People's Supply. The free standing gable front store type is characterized by one to two story frame construction with a gable roof. Many examples include display windows, 1/1 double hung sash windows on the second story and a porch. The People's Supply displays all of these characteristics.

During the mid 19th century, central Baldwin County was an undeveloped hinterland with no rail or roadway connections to facilitate its settlement. The area was blessed by a long growing season, however, and it wasn't long before immigrants discovered the cheap land prices. During the late 19th century, ethnic immigrants from the mid-west began to settle central Baldwin County. This process was greatly facilitated by the construction of a rail spur from Bay Minette down to the southern portion of the county in 1905. This spur provided a route of transport for settlers, and allowed for easy marketing of produce. With the construction of the railroad and the development of truck farming, Foley, Robertsdale, Summerdale and Silverhill all benefited and prospered. Though not directly on the railroad, Silverhill was close enough to benefit, and to serve as a center of more remote communities.

In 1890, the Svea Land Company was formed in Chicago for the purpose of colonizing farm land in the South. Lots were sold in Chicago and at the company office in Baldwin County. The town would come to be known as "Silverhill" because local workers at a turpentine still on the site (before its purchase by the Swedes), were paid in silver on a little hilltop. For those interested in locating south, reduced railroad fares were offered and brochures extolling the area were printed in Swedish. "Earn a permanent income," read the brochure, "be independent, enjoy life, provide for yourself and those who are dependent upon you, these ambitions can be realized if you buy lands in Silverhill Land Colony."

Among the first buildings in town was the Svea Land Office, constructed in 1897 (listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985). As the community grew, the land office also served as a school. Very soon, Silverhill could boast roads, the school and land office, a saw mill, farms and a general store (the People's Supply). Withal, by 1910, there were only some fifty residents.

Central to Silverhill's community life was the general store, known as the People's Supply. The property was purchased by Theodore Johnson in September of 1901 from Carl and Hanna Carlson of Chicago. Mr. Johnson then erected the store, with living quarters upstairs. The building featured approximately 2,000 square feet downstairs and 1,000 square feet upstairs. (Interview, Dr. Spalding) Architecturally, the People's Supply is a southern free standing gable front store with board and batten siding and a wrap­ around porch. Most unusual for this type are the dormers, which provided light and air to the upper story.

Johnson would own and operate the store from 1902 to 1928. During this time he sold everything needed to farm and live in the area, including shoes, clothing, groceries, hardward and feed and seed. The People's Supply acted as a nerve center for the area, and was a popular place to trade gossip and news. Children played on the porch or outside, and if bad, even played craps.

In 1928 the store was run by George Marines, a Greek immigrant who had also been drawn to Baldwin County. In 1947 he would purchase the building. It was then managed for him by Mr. and Mrs. Leslie Chandler, who raised their two children upstairs. The Chandlers would run the store until 1972. It was during their tenure that People's Supply enjoyed its heyday. The inventory was valued at $18,000 and sales were as high as $130,000 a year. Nearly 8,000 pounds of coffee were sold per year. During the Depression the Chandlers allowed hungry customers to buy on credit, sometimes erasing the debts. In deference to Swedish tastes, People's Supply stocked herring and lutefistk (dried codfish) in brine for Christmas treats.

People's Supply served not only the Silverhill community, but farmers and residents alike from the broader rural area, particularly to the west and south of town. Saturday was usually market day, and the store would be crowded with shoppers. As other Baldwin County communities developed and with the improvements in roads and transportation, the importance of People's Supply declined.

Since 1972, there have been seven owners, none particularly successful, despite the addition of gas pumps during the 1980s. Rural convenience stores and supermarkets in nearby Robertsdale, effectively made People's Supply obsolete as a general store. The building stood vacant for several years before its purchase by Dr. and Mrs. Joe Spalding in 1993. They began a major restoration effort, and reopened the building to the public as an antique and reproduction furniture shop in September of 1995.

The People's Supply Company is an important historic building in Baldwin County. Not only is it a distinctive expression of the free standing gable front store type, but it is a rare survival of that type in Baldwin County.