Before the days of shopping malls, all of downtown was a busy place. Notable establishments have been Ramseur's Hardware, an A&P, Eagles and Roses Five and Ten Cent Stores, two theatres, the Rivoli and the Century, First National Bank, the Lincolnton Fire Department, Childs-Wolfe Drug Company, and a number of clothing stores.
One notable downtown business was the Wampum Department Stores (1905) at 132 East Main. The storefront was originally brick with key stoned lintel and granite detail and was erected between 1902 and 1906 when there was a tremendous building surge in the construction of brick buildings downtown.
Between 1911 and 1921, 124 East Main Street was built as an addition to the original building. In 1916, the Wampum Store became the Abernethy and Thompson Store which, in 1921 became Efird's Department Store. When Efird's vacated the building in the 1930s, it became a retail drugstore, which it remained – under different owners – until recent years.
During the 1940s and 1950s it was known as Lincoln Cut Rate Drugs and later simply Lincoln Drug offering a pharmacy and shopping as well as a lunch counter. In the mid-twentieth century, the building also served as a community meeting place, with a large dining room and kitchen on the second floor.
Before the days of shopping malls, all of downtown was a busy place. Notable establishments have been Ramseur’s Hardware, an A&P, Eagles and Roses Five and Ten Cent Stores, two theatres, the Rivoli and the Century, First National Bank, the Lincolnton Fire Department, Childs-Wolfe Drug Company, and a number of clothing stores.
One notable downtown business was the Wampum Department Stores (1905) at 132 East Main. The storefront was originally brick with key stoned lintel and granite detail and was erected between 1902 and 1906 when there was a tremendous building surge in the construction of brick buildings downtown.
Between 1911 and 1921, 124 East Main Street was built as an addition to the original building. In 1916, the Wampum Store became the Abernethy and Thompson Store which, in 1921 became Efird’s Department Store. When Efird’s vacated the building in the 1930s, it became a retail drugstore, which it remained – under different owners – until recent years.
During the 1940s and 1950s it was known as Lincoln Cut Rate Drugs and later simply Lincoln Drug offering a pharmacy and shopping as well as a lunch counter. In the mid-twentieth century, the building also served as a community meeting place, with a large dining room and kitchen on the second floor.