PENCE SPRINGS, (Hinton News) – Learning about and preserving history carries importance for many people. One such person, William Jones, is sharing his collection of items with local historical significance exclusively with readers of The Hinton News. In this edition of A Peek at Summers County’s History, Jones takes us back to the late 1800s before Pence Springs carried that name.
Among the items in Jones’ collection are four ledger books, a receipt and two carpet tack boxes. The receipt and one of the books originate from 1899 when the area was still known as Stockyards, West Virginia. It would not be until after the turn of the century that the area would be named Pence Springs. The new name was in honor of Andrew Pence and the sulfur springs resort he established.
“One of these ledger books and original receipts are from 1899 and are from Stockyards, W. Va. They are the only pieces I have ever seen in my 30-some years of collecting local memorabilia where the name ‘Stockyards’ was used,” Jones said. “The three other ledger books from the early 1900s, after the town’s name changed to Pence Springs. They were given to me by Cotton Walker, who lives in Pence Springs, to add to my collection of local pieces.”
The parents of the individual who passed the items on to Jones purchased what was once the home of W.D. Rhodes in 1982. Jones spoke about Rhodes saying, “Mr. Rhodes was a prominent businessman in Pence Springs at the time and was the owner of W.D. Rhodes Store, from which all of these items came. A little known fact about Mr. Rhodes is that he had two brothers. One of them had a store and a home in Lowell, WV. And the other was L.G. Rhodes, who had his store and home in Talcott. L.G was the original owner of L.G. Rhodes General Store, built in 1905 which eventually became Dillon’s Superette in Talcott.” Dillion’s Superette has since been donated and transformed into the John Henry Museum. Although, it remained in operation until the early 2010s.
Jones went on to say, “An interesting aspect involving this piece is that Mr. Rhodes had married Mrs. Kate Pyles in 1915. The Pyles family was well known among the locals in Pence Springs. There were seven Pyles siblings, two boys, and five girls, they were all well educated and involved in many businesses in the county, and two of the sisters were teachers.”
“It is a well-known fact that women were treated second to their husbands in the era and not as their equals,” Jones said. “Mr. Rhodes had already established a successful business in what is now Pence Springs for roughly 15 years prior to marrying Kate under the name of ‘W. D. Rhodes, Dr’ as can be seen in this receipt that uses the name Stockyard on it.” Jones goes on to talk about the progressive move Rhodes made to include his wife’s name on his business. “He then changed his store name to Rhodes-Pyles Store, as can be seen with these 1910s carpet tack boxes after he married Mrs. Kate Pyles and continued operation until the 1940s.”
Be sure to check back next week for another peek into Summers County’s past. If you have a local history story you would like to share with us, send an email to news@hintonnews.com.
