The Old Riverton Store, formerly known as Eisler Bros. Store and originally Williams Store, in Riverton, Kansas, today marks the 100th anniversary of its opening.
Leo and Lora Williams opened it on March 20, 1925 — more than a year before U.S. 66 officially existed.
The store is marking the occasion today with cupcakes.
A big birthday party will be held on May 17 with live music, a classic car show, and more, according to the store’s Facebook page, with other commemorative events throughout the year.
Here’s a good video that dives into the store’s history and what it looked like less than 18 months ago.
One of the things Old Riverton Store is known for is its old-fashioned, hand-crafted sandwiches made behind the meat counter.
The old Eisler Bros. website contains this history:
The current building replaced one destroyed by a tornado in 1923, where Lora had served lunches and sold groceries while Leo worked at the Empire District Electric Co.,
The existing building originally had an open front porch, but the present closed-in porch replaced that in 1933. It is one story, built of hollow, dark red bricks on a concrete slab foundation.
The interior has changed little since 1925. It is divided into two primary spaces, the east section which was, and is, used as the commercial area and the west section consisting of three rooms in a linear arrangement with a small bath, (added later) which was the residence of Leo and Lora Williams and their daughter, Jane Marie. The kitchen was in the commercial part just west of the meat lockers. A pressed metal ceiling is used throughout the building.
In the 1940s the Williams family moved their residence to the house next door to the store. Today the front part which was originally the living room, houses Route 66 merchandise and souvenirs.
There were gasoline pumps in front of the store for many years, leased first to Texaco and later to Standard Oil. The store itself carried everything from groceries to general merchandise-shoes, clothes, milk, fresh meat, and a wide variety of goods. Leo also barbecued beef and venison in a pit behind the store and served sandwiches to customers. Lora served her special recipe of chili.
Customers were mostly local people, but the store also played an important role on Route 66 as the traffic increased through the late ’20s, ’30s, ’40s and ’50s.
There were originally two outhouses back of the store. One now remains, painted white and a thin moon silhouette cut into the door. The papers concerning the property say, “this resource is contributing to the nomination.”
The Williamses ran the store until 1945, when they leased it to Lloyd Paxson. Paxson died in 1948, so Lora returned to the store and operated it until about 1970.
Joe and Isabell Eisler of Texas, bought the store in 1973, and it was managed by their nephew, Scott Nelson. He bought the store in 2011.
Old Riverton Store remains on the National Register of Historic Places.
UPDATE: The Joplin Globe published this story about the store’s centennial and Isabell Eisler:
Among other things, Eisler was an author and poet, who had her story, “Confessions of a Trigger-Happy Housewife,” published in Reader’s Digest in January 1969. Nelson said the store wouldn’t be here without her, and she was determined the store remained as it was.
“She saw the potential and the value of history to the store,” Nelson said. “So, thank you, Isabell. She was a great, great lady and taught me everything I know.”
That place smells great.