
The original store and its large sign, “J. W. Green Dealer in Everything,” burned in 1898 along with many other wooden buildings in this tiny lumber and resort hamlet. Green, a native of Virginia, rebuilt the store in 1898 with chunks of granite from the nearby Serrie and Geddes Quarry. The huge blocks were hoisted into place by a team of mules, a jim pole, and six strong men. The two-story, rock-faced stone building with walls two feet thick shows few changes. Inside, many original fixtures remain, as does the 14-foot-high pressed metal ceiling and the family of the original owner, represented behind the counter by J. W. Green's grand-son, Donald. The store has been the community center, post office, polling place, dance hall, and, until the Colorado & Southern abandoned the line in 1938, ticket office for the narrow-gauge railroad.