(Editor’s note: Bynum General Store, located on Bynum Road off 15-501 in Pittsboro, has a long and storied history. The CN+R asked local writer AlexSandra Lett to share the story of the store’s creation and survival, and the colorful characters who kept the store vibrant into the 21stcentury.)
BYNUM – In 1936, when Bynum was a thriving cotton mill town, James Gurney Williams – called “Sleepy” because of his droopy eyelids – had a grist mill so folks could bring their grain corn to be ground into meal.
They used the meal to make corn bread.
Since Gurney owned three acres, he and his wife Ruth decided to open a general store to provide goods for residents and passersby in what was becoming a booming mill town. Gurney convinced his brother Carney to use his carpentry skills to erect a building.
Within a few months customers could walk up on the porch, into the door, stroll across the solid wood floors, and browse through the shelves to buy basics like baking powder, oatmeal, flour, sugar, fruit, hard candy, eggs, milk, butter, fruit and vegetables, honey and molasses, crackers, cheese, syrup, dried beans, coffee beans, spices, cigars and tobacco. One special item was a large hoop of cheese that customers could cut off slices and devour on the spot between cookies or crackers.
The front counter held display cases for smaller items, as well as needed machinery such as a coffee grinder, scales for weighing merchandise, and a cash register. In the back were mule shoes, plow lines, hammers, pliers, screws, and bolts.
Gurney’s General Store became a destination for mill workers and their families, not just a place to purchase necessary items but connect with neighbors and share stories. The favorite spot in winter was the pot-bellied stove where folks could catch up on the latest gossip.
While Gurney and Ruth were building the business Frank Harris was working at a larger general store created by Cary Durham in the Rock building next to a movie theater. Frank learned that the Williams couple were interested in having someone take over the store so Frank and his wife Louise and her father Frank Farrell decided to become the new managers in 1946. The store was renamed “Harris and Farrell.”
The new owners found their bliss in cultivating customers, building their business, and expanding their product line. The Harris’ son Walter – nicknamed “Corkey”- was born in 1942 and started stocking the shelves at age 5.
Corkey said his Mama and Daddy went to a toy fair in Richmond every August in the 1940s and 1950s and ordered toys for Christmas. They were shipped by train to Pittsboro and he says his Daddy would drive the pick-up truck to get the freight. Then dolls, trucks, wagons, bicycles, and other delights would be available to customers.
While seven stores eventually opened and served this booming town the Harris family stayed the longest for 43 years. Louise assumed the duties of postmaster in 1983 since mailboxes were moved into the building.
“The post office increased activity at the store…it was central and held the community together,” Corkey said.
He said that back in 1872 Bynum community was put on the map with the erection of a cotton mill J.M. O’Dell Manufacturing Company, which attracted lots of residents so several businesses sprouted up and blossomed. The cotton mill closed in the mid-70s when it was sold to Tuscarora Yarns, which itself closed in 1983.
Managers retire, new name emerges
When Frank and Louise retired in 1992 Frankie Snipes Jones, who grew up across the street, took over the store for several years and called it Bynum General Store.
Later in the 1990s Jerry Partin became the enthusiastic new manager and also assumed the duties of postmaster. After a bridge in Bynum closed in 2001, navigation to the Bynum General Store became difficult.
Partin’s business was struggling so he built an outside stage next to the store and started booking bands and various musical groups on Friday nights.
“The musical offerings kept the store in business,” according to Bynum native Martha Collins, who said the general store was a vital part of her life when she was growing up in the 1960s.
When Partin decided to close the store in 2006 Collins and a group of concerned citizens gathered in the living room of Molly Matlock, who was executive director of the Chatham Arts Council. A group of 18 fans of the Bynum General Store decided to keep the store open and donated $250 each to pay the rent.
The founding board of directors included Matlock, Collins (who served as treasurer), Debbie Tunnell (secretary), her husband Ken, Bonnie and Luke Barrow, Dan Blanchette, Clarence Durham, Tommy Edwards, Cynthia Hermans, Carrie Overgaard, Dawn Porter, John Ulrich, Marchellina Waugh, John and Ruth Winecker, and Matt Zigler. Overgaard and Porter served as co-chairmen.
Bynum Front Porch first operated under the Chatham Arts Council and then received its non-profit status in 2009. Enthusiasm continued to build, and folks rented the space for workshops, family gatherings, and various events.
“Bynum General Store became the social center of the community,” Collins said.
Raxter contributes to General Store
In 1983 Bynum attracted a new voice, Cynthia Raxter, who moved to the area to attend UNC-Chapel Hill and became a professional storyteller.
Raxter fell in love with Bynum and Harris and Farrell General Store, and of course, Louise and Frank Harris.
“If you had packages at Christmas time, Frank Harris would run out there to get them out of the car for you,” she recalls. “If you ever got a package he would have been insulted if you carried it out for yourself. There was no waiting in line. His wife Louise was the postmaster and she would almost take it personally if she didn’t have as many Christmas stamps as you wanted for your Christmas cards. God forbid you had to use an generic postage stamp on your holiday letter!”
Raxter started coordinating a monthly story-telling event held the second Saturday of each month. The next gathering is set for Jan. 12 and will feature Corkey, Martha, Cynthia, and others sharing anecdotes and reflections.
All concerts and storytelling shows are free, although the host passes a pith helmet to pay the performers.
During winter months, Bynum Front Porch is offering indoor music every third Friday each month until May when the regular Friday Night Music Series is held through August.
Fans of Bynum Front Porch recently enjoyed their annual Christmas party with New Direction Bluegrass performing and are excited about upcoming events in 2019.
Martha said attendees at the party and all gatherings experience a sense of connection and community. “We are all family and others are welcome to feel that kinship.”
AlexSandra Lett is a professional speaker and the author of “A Timeless Place, Lett's Set a Spell at the Country Store” and several other books. See atimelessplace.com for more information. Lett can be reached at 919-499-8880. For more about the store, go to bynumfrontporch.org.
