Roanes Store Off
the Ware River
By L. Roane Hunt
The three sons, Luther, Richard, and Charles,
of Charles A. Roane and Sarah R. Roane of King and Queen County came to
the Robin’s Neck of Gloucester County after the Civil War and worked as
merchants for about fifty years. First, Luther and Charles settled in the
area that would become Seldens Post Office.
They
purchased about sixty acres that had been part of the Level Green
Plantation on the Ware River at the mouth of the Wilson Creek. The White
Marsh Plantation, owned by the John Tabb family, extended eastward to
include the Wilson Creek, Tabb’s Landing, and a shipyard located on Wilson
Creek near Level Green. In the 1870 census, Luther and Charles Roane were
listed at Seldens as merchant and clerk, respectively. Later in 1877,
Richard Roane purchased an acre of land at Cedar Fork, near Robins Mill,
where he built a store (see painting on the left) that would become Roanes
Post Office, located five miles from Seldens toward the Courthouse.
Robins Mill was the headquarters for the Patriots during the Revolutionary
War. In 1882, Richard A. Roane purchased a half acre from Luther Roane
and built the Roanes Wharf on the Ware River. Also, in 1888 Richard
purchased more of the Level Green property from Joseph James and built the
Seldens Store and Post Office. Richard Roane developed the two stores
that were supplied by Roanes Wharf (See painting below.) The Roanes Wharf
was located on the Ware River which was on the main water route to the
Gloucester Courthouse, the center of county development for many years.
The
Roanes Store complex consisted of both a store and house, and according to
tradition was built in seven phases. The painting shows the store front
on the left and the house front on the right. The two-story structure has
been modeled with 3D computer soft-ware to illustrate its design. Two
views are presented at the bottom of page 23 to show the first and second
floors exposed, respectively. The actual store had first-floor windows on
the front wall with blinds for security. The store was open to the second
floor and the two open balconies at each end allowed light into the store
from the many windows on three sides of the second floor. The walls were
covered with shelves to display the goods, and storerooms were located
behind the main store area. Two bedrooms were located above the store for
the young clerks.
The house portion was located behind the store,
but the front extended beyond store and opened into a small formal yard.
This end of the house consisted of an entrance hall and front room on the
first floor and three bedrooms above on the second floor. The kitchen was
located on the other end, and it was probably separate until later
additions connected it. The center section was added last with a dining
room on the first floor and the master bedroom on the second. At times,
the house was used to room and board travelers and salesmen that came to
the area by steamship and used rented buggies to go house to house selling
their wares.
Richard Roane began this store, but he enlisted
family members to operate it in later years. After 1915, it was rented,
and it closed in the mid 1960s. ‡
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