Taking a step into the OLD Rutledge Hardware store is like taking a step back in time...
Rutledge Hardware has been in continuous operation since 1891 in downtown Rutledge. It has all of its original fixtures, rolling ladders from floor to ceiling, even some of its original inventory! Only the fourth owner of record, local resident Paul Jones grew up shopping in this store that he now owns and op
erates. The 100 year old Rutledge Hardware store also is home to his custom furniture workshop. Paul builds 18th Century Furniture Reproductions in the back warehouse area when he isn't waiting on customers up front or visiting with them outside. His pieces include Heart Pine Hunt boards, Linen Press/Entertainment Centers, Corner Cupboards, Trunks, Tables, Beds, etc all done in Milk Paint finishes. They have been featured in the magazine Country Living among others. His furniture creations can be found in homes up and down the East coast from Georgia to Connecticut and as far away as Texas and even Europe! Folks visiting the hardware store enjoy looking through the old double doors into the back warehouse area and watching Paul as he brings his hand-crafted 18th century furniture pieces to life. At Rutledge Hardware Paul sells a full line of hardware along with old fashioned and hard to find household items. He sells wood stoves and cast iron Lodge cookware featuring camp and Dutch ovens, frying pans in all sizes, grills and griddles along with cook tables and tri-pod stands to cook on. You'll find Radio Flyer Wagons, Daisy BB Guns, Farm Bells, Milk Paint even screen wire fly swatters! It's a treat to buy marbles right from the jar or seed from the old seed bin, nails from the revolving nail bin and nuts and blots from the wonderful old oak nut and bolt bin. Spring time is the best time of year as Rutledge Hardware is about the only place around where you can buy seed potatoes and bulk garden seed, weighed up by hand the old fashioned way! Paul sells you as much or as little garden seed as you want along with beautiful garden plants he cares for daily and keeps fresh for you to plant. He sells flowering plants, vegetable plants, onion sets, seed potatoes, you name what you want for your garden and chances are he will have it right there for you! Stepping into the Hardware store is like taking a step back in time. Upon its purchase, items were uncovered dating back to the 1850's on the floor to ceiling shelves that line the walls. The shelves can only be reached from the rolling ladders that travel the length of the store on their cast iron wheels and rails. Two years after Paul purchased the Hardware store, the Smithsonian Institute paid him a visit. They left with a rare, one of a kind Cole Boll Weevil Killer still in its original heart pine shipping crate. That is all that has left the store of the original old store inventory. All other items discovered can be viewed in the original glass display shelves. The store was the inspiration for the hardware store in the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance. In fact, many of the antique store items in the movie came from this store. They too can be seen back at home and back in use. The hardware store has hosted several movie and TV productions since and is a popular destination for locals and tourists alike! The RR runs right through the center of small town Rutledge. You should see the men and boys rush out of the stores to catch a glimpse of the train as it rambles by. It seems little boys (and big ones too) never outgrow their love of trains!
