A. F. Gilger & Son General Store, Hadley, PA about 1890

Submitted by Nancy Young

The A.F. Gilger & Son General Store opened in 1869 by Alvin Franklin Gilger.  The store carried groceries, hardware, clothing, blankets, paint and more items.  

The first sale was made to David Hadley.  He bought eggs and butter.

The store had been handed down from generation to generation until it burned down in the 1980s.  It had been the general store in Hadley for all these years.  

Notice all the horses and buggies and all the "Gents" gathering around for their morning visits.  You can click on the horses, buggies and people to enlarge that portion of the photograph.

The dirt road in front of the store leads to the railroad station a few yards away.

From the History of Mercer County, 1877:

"...In the following year [1871], the town was laid out by Mr. [David] Hadley, Joseph McClure, being employed a surveyor, and in the same year, J. Gilger built the store, in which he still continues business, and opened it in October, under the firm-name of McConnell & Gilger.  In 1873, Alexander McConnell left the company, and the business has since been in the hands of the original owner of the building [J. Gilger].  It is now the only dry-goods establishment in the village, carries a large stock, and has a country trade amounting to $35,000 per year, which requires the labor of the owner and two clerks."

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