|
|
An artist’s
rendition of the northwest corner of the Paoli square appeared on a map of Orange and Washington
counties. The drawing was done before a fire in 1885 destroyed that section
of the town square. Beginning on the left is the home of Dr. J.H. Sherrod and
in the corner is his drug store. Benjamin M. Lingle’s harness and
saddle shop is next. An unidentifed building stands between Lingle’s
and B.D. Riley’s hardware store. The final building shown housed Dr.
L.S. Bowles’ jewelry and drug store.
When fire swept through that
section of the square, the Sherrod residence was rebuilt in a style similar
to the previous one, Romantic Italinate. That structure, now housing Orange County Historical Society’s
Museum, remains as the only original residence left standing on the town
square. Next door to it, Dr. Sherrod rebuilt his drug store, abutting his
home, and that building bears his family name, carved in stone above the
entrance.
Mr. Lingle rebuilt, too. He not
only built his harness and saddle shop, but constructed the neighboring
buildings, all constructed as a single unit, for Mr. Riley’s tin shop
and expanding hardware business. Lingle, born 1840, apprenticed as a harness
maker at age 16 and went into a partnership with his brother. In 1881 he
traveled by train to Florida
and following that visit, in 1883 purchased land there and planted an orange
grove. He continued in the harness and saddle business in Paoli, but with his
wife, Ruth Lindley Lingle, made trips to Florida in the winter. Their home remains
standing on the corner of West Main and Northwest Second streets, now the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Terry Cornwell.
Both Mr. Lingle and Mr. Riley were
Civil War veterans. Riley was born in Floyd County in 1831 and around age 16,
he apprenticed for a four-year period in the tinner’s trade. He came to
Orange County in 1852 and opened a tin and
stove store at Valeene. Following his service in the Civil War, Mr. Riley moved
his business to Paoli. In 1870, he added a complete line of hardware to the
tin business and in 1883, he added furniture and agriculture implements to
his stock. His grandson, the late John P. Riley and his wife, Mary, became
owners of the Riley
Building, where they
were editors of The Paoli Republican and The Paoli News. Mrs. Riley continues
to own the structure which houses the newspaper operation.
|
