Historic Beverly: The Blackman-Bosworth Store

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22. The Blackman-Bosworth Store

The Blackman-Bosworth Store building was built about 1827-28 by David Blackman.

It was on lot #14 and originally stood next to the James Westfall house, which had been used as an early court house.

Slaves built the store building under the supervision of bricklayer J. W. Bradley, who had a brick yard along the bank of the river. Mr. Blackman had a mercantile store here until the Civil War, and the store was later operated by McClaskey and Hanshaw.

Bosworth Store (55934 bytes)

The store has a vault in the cellar reached by a trapdoor; this was used to store valuables before there was a bank. The building was used as a commissary during the Civil War, and inscriptions written by soldiers are still visible on some of the upstairs walls. It also has been used as a post office and as a print shop; the Randolph Enterprise was first printed here.

In 1881, Squire Newton Bosworth, the son of Dr. Squire Bosworth, bought the store. In the 1890s, he built an addition on the north side of the building. For much of the twentieth century some of his descendants lived here. In 1973, the Randolph County Historical Society, with assistance from Beverly Community Action, purchased the building and restored it to serve as the Randolph County Museum. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The main building, on the northwest corner of Main and Court streets, is a three-bay by four-bay structure with 9/6 (9 panes in the upper window over 6 panes in the lower window) windows and large double doors. On the north side is an addition with separate entrance.