(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)