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Featured Fade – Nick Hirshon – W.H. Smith Hardware Co – Wholesale Since 1874 – Oil & Gas Museum – Parkersburg, WV

Lumbering, Tackle, Chain Dog. ??? Grayscale- CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE © Nick Hirshon

Men of West Virginia, 1903 – © Google Books

W.H. Smith Hardware Company Building, also known as the Oil and Gas Museum of the Oil, Gas and Industrial Historical Association, is a historic commercial building located at Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia. It was built in 1899, on the foundation of a building built about 1874. It is a four-story, masonry building with Romanesque Revival architectural details. The rectangular building measure 60 feet by 120 feet, with an 18 feet by 12 feet outcrop. It housed the W.H. Smith Hardware Company until the 1980s. It now houses the Oil and Gas Museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. – Wikipedia

W.H. Smith Company was founded in 1886 by William H. Smith and for decades occupied the W.H. Smith Hardware building in downtown Parkersburg. In 1975 Vin Rathbone purchased the company from William A. Smith and in the 1980s moved the company to its current location on DuPont Road in Parkersburg.  W.H.Smith Company, a certified small business, has a proud history dating back more than 135 years – and is a leader in producing Hose Assemblies and Systems and Load Securing and Material Handling Products, primarily for military applications. We provide value added services including assembly, light fabrication, welding, painting and testing. – WH Smith Co. Website

REFERENCES:

Hooven Mercantile Co Building – Mauch Chunk – Jim Thorpe, PA

© Frank H. Jump