Martin and Jones Hardware Store

Martin and Jones Hardware Store, W. Edgar Avenue, Ronceverte, WV

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Martin and Jones Hardware Store

Today we continue our walking tour of Ronceverte, West Virginia. In the previous two posts we took a look at the rare concrete coaling tower which still dominates the town’s skyline and the craftsman style railroad depot. Our stop today is only a few yards further along the railroad tracks from the depot. In fact, the railroad tracks are right behind where I stood to make this image.

Martin and Jones Hardware has operated out of this large brick building since 1917. Prior to this date, it housed the Greenbrier Produce Company. Constructed in 1900, the building is unique in that there is a railroad line, which you can see in the image above, which runs right into the building for the unloading of materials.

Martin and Jones is one of the oldest operational hardware stores in West Virginia. Their history dates back a few years before they moved into the current structure to 1904. The inside of the current structure seems most appropriate for a company which has been in business this long. It has hand-hewed beams and maple hardwood floors as well as the original four-story freight elevator which still works.

The hardware store is one of over 200 contributing buildings to the Ronceverte Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places