Spade Ranch Store
Encyclopedia
The Spade Ranch Store or Morgan's Store is a general store in the small town of Ellsworth, Nebraska
providing supplies and services to area ranchers and passing motorists . Built in 1898 as a company store
as well as the main offices for the expansive Spade Ranch
, the store was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 2010.
located on the Burlington Railroad line, offered only a depot, school, and section house. In about 1898 the Spade Ranch
erected a store, a hotel, and stockyards. The store building, built by W.T. Merrit, served as office headquarters for the ranch, a general supply store and a post office. At the height of the Spade Ranch operations, a six-team wagon made trips from the Ellsworth Store to the store located at the Spade Headquarters 23 miles north east every three days. In 1927 after the foreclosure of the ranch, the store building was sold to Abbott Interest who hired Lawrence Graham to assume its management. Between 1928 and 1950, Lawrence and his wife, Hazel, operated the store, living in the apartment above. During this time, gasoline pumps were added. In 1950, Lawrence and Hazel Graham purchased the store from Abbott Interest. After Lawrence's death in 1960, Hazel and her son, Roy, continued to operate the store until 1967. The store remained vacant from 1967 until 1971, when it was sold to Veldon Morgan, a former Spade Cowboy, and son Wade Morgan who built two large warehouse additions to the original store for use as a western tack and saddle manufacturing plant with over 200 employees. Morgan's western equipment was sold nationwide and achieved much success throughout the 1970's and 1980's. Beginning in the early 1990's Morgan's began to downsize until 2000 when all factory operations ceased because of shifting markets. Today Wade Morgan operates as a ranch supply and general store, serving Ellsworth and the surrounding area.
Ellsworth, Nebraska
Ellsworth is an unincorporated community in Sheridan County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the community had a population of 32. Ellsworth was established in the late nineteenth century as a company town for the Spade Ranch and a shipping point for cattle on the Chicago,...
providing supplies and services to area ranchers and passing motorists . Built in 1898 as a company store
Company town
A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...
as well as the main offices for the expansive Spade Ranch
Spade Ranch (Nebraska)
The Spade Ranch is a large cattle ranch located in the Sandhills of western Nebraska between the towns of Gordon and Ellsworth. Founded in 1888 by Bartlett Richards, the ranch was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980....
, the store was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 2010.
History
In the early 1890s, EllsworthEllsworth, Nebraska
Ellsworth is an unincorporated community in Sheridan County, Nebraska, United States. As of the 2000 census, the community had a population of 32. Ellsworth was established in the late nineteenth century as a company town for the Spade Ranch and a shipping point for cattle on the Chicago,...
located on the Burlington Railroad line, offered only a depot, school, and section house. In about 1898 the Spade Ranch
Spade Ranch (Nebraska)
The Spade Ranch is a large cattle ranch located in the Sandhills of western Nebraska between the towns of Gordon and Ellsworth. Founded in 1888 by Bartlett Richards, the ranch was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980....
erected a store, a hotel, and stockyards. The store building, built by W.T. Merrit, served as office headquarters for the ranch, a general supply store and a post office. At the height of the Spade Ranch operations, a six-team wagon made trips from the Ellsworth Store to the store located at the Spade Headquarters 23 miles north east every three days. In 1927 after the foreclosure of the ranch, the store building was sold to Abbott Interest who hired Lawrence Graham to assume its management. Between 1928 and 1950, Lawrence and his wife, Hazel, operated the store, living in the apartment above. During this time, gasoline pumps were added. In 1950, Lawrence and Hazel Graham purchased the store from Abbott Interest. After Lawrence's death in 1960, Hazel and her son, Roy, continued to operate the store until 1967. The store remained vacant from 1967 until 1971, when it was sold to Veldon Morgan, a former Spade Cowboy, and son Wade Morgan who built two large warehouse additions to the original store for use as a western tack and saddle manufacturing plant with over 200 employees. Morgan's western equipment was sold nationwide and achieved much success throughout the 1970's and 1980's. Beginning in the early 1990's Morgan's began to downsize until 2000 when all factory operations ceased because of shifting markets. Today Wade Morgan operates as a ranch supply and general store, serving Ellsworth and the surrounding area.