The Gettysburg branch of Schmuck Lumber Company, located at 615 York St., will undergo a major expansion this year, bringing a full-scale hardware store to Gettysburg.
The store, currently located in the west side of the two-storefront building, will expand into the now-vacant east side of the building.
“We think it’s going to be a staple for Gettysburg. It’s going to look great,” said company president Woodie Witman. We’re going to gut the entire building, exposing its concrete floor and brick walls,” he said.
“We’ll be replacing all the windows, closing the two existing entrances, and creating a single main entrance. We’ll keep the look of the open metal trusses.”
The building dates from the 1960s and was once a discount store called Bargaintown, USA
Witmer said the focus of the new store, in addition to the current lumberyard offerings, would be on hardware. “We’ll have a lot more than nuts and bolts including pretty much anything you could think of getting from a large hardware store. We’ll have a full line of paint and tools by Stihl and other suppliers.”
“It’s going to be interesting; but in the end it’s going to be very, very nice. We’re going to have a lot of products.”
Witmer said he expected the project to start in April. “We have to move a lot of inventory into storage during the construction,” he said.
The new store will be headed by one of the four Schmuck Lumber Company partners, Landon Rife. “Landon is absolutely fantastic,” said Witmer.
Schmuck was founded in 1852 in Hanover, when most of the lumber came from the mountains of Pennsylvania around Williamsport, where it was sawed, made into rafts, and floated down the Susquehanna River to Wrightsville. From there it was hauled by rail to Hanover.
Founder Henry Schmuck was said to have met President Lincoln when he stopped in Hanover to change train tracks on his way to delivering the Gettysburg Address.
The Gettysburg Branch opened in 2009 at the site, which was formerly a branch of a chain of stores calle The Lumber Yard.
Witmer said the success of the 172 year-old company derive in large part fromits workers. “We focus on the employees. I’m surrounded by great people. We foster a family atmosphere. It’s fun.”
Charles (Chuck) Stangor is Gettysburg Connection's Owner, Publisher, and Editor in Chief. I would like to hear from you. Please contact me at cstangor@gettysburgconnection.org.