LOUISA — One of the oldest businesses in Louisa is Wellman Hardware Store.

Not much has changed over the years.

Wellman Hardware still sells nearly 10,000 individual items, such as plumbing supplies (the major line), power and hand tools, paint, lawn and garden supplies and Red Wing shoes. The business still uses a hand-drawn elevator to transport merchandise stored upstairs.

One small difference is the inside of the store. While the main part used to have shelves on the walls, it now has hooks, which were installed in 1989, where items can be hung. Also, the store has recently begun handling ATV parts and welding supplies.

Wellman has a lot of competition in nationwide chains. However, it has always been local and owners pride themselves on offering more personal service, which many find more appealing.

Joel Thacker, who worked at the store for 15 years before owning it, agrees that Wellman Hardware is an essential part of Louisa.

“When I look around Louisa, I think of how many products are in the homes,” he said. “Since 1879, Wellman has helped to build Louisa.”

Because of the store’s hometown status, Thacker believes the Wal-Mart coming to Louisa will not affect his business much, but, as he points out, it is up to the people of Lawrence County and the surrounding area. Thacker said he hopes customers will compare prices and service, because Wellman has very competitive prices and is known for personal, one-on-one service, he said.

Wellman Hardware also has history. The building has a pre-Civil War architectural style and, in November 1988 was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Also, the store has had a partnership with Gray-Seal paint for more than 50 years. In fact, Wellman and Gray-Seal have worked together for so long neither knows how far back the partnership goes.

Wellman also has promotion through Orgill, the largest individual hardware distributor in the world. It deals in 60 countries and is the fastest-growing independent distributor. Orgill does not promote itself but rather solely promotes Wellman.

The store is a “local legend” few have heard but is interesting none the less.

The tale indicates that two men were hanged in the outskirts of Louisa, but the flood of 1937 washed out their graves. Their bodies floated downstream where someone found one of the skulls. The rumor is that a person gave the skull to Lafe Wellman, who promptly displayed it in the store, which was the last place it was seen.

The Thackers had not heard the tale until a man from out of town came to them inquiring about it.

“A gentleman came into the store and said he was looking for the skull,” Rachel Thacker said. “I said, ‘What skull?’ He said the skull was upstairs. I yelled for Joel because we had no idea what he was talking about. He told us the story and, even though we explained it wasn’t here, he insisted it was.”

Since then, they have searched the store for a skull, but it has yet to be found.

The business has always been a hardware store, originally run as Louisa Hardware and Furniture Co. by Augustine “Aug” Snyder. Snyder constructed the two-story building between 1876 though ’79, and the original trim still graces the exterior.

Snyder sold the building around the turn of the century to E.E. Shannon, who in turn sold it to Lafe Wellman in 1919. It was named Wellman Hardware Store, and Wellman added to the building shortly after he bought it. In fact, if customers walks into the back today and turns around, they can see the original back windows from the part built by Aug Snyder.

After Wellman’s passing in 1956, the business was inherited by his daughter and her husband, Levy and Maxine “Maxi” Gray. The Grays sold WellmanHardware in 1967 to Georgemary Thacker (the current owner’s mother), her cousin, R.C. Wells, and his wife, Libby. Then, in 1989, Thacker’s son Joel bought the business, who runs the store today along with his wife, Rachel.

Wellman Hardware Store is at 309 Main St. in downtown Louisa. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and closed on Sunday.

AMY HALL is a freelance writer from Louisa. She attends Georgetown College.