General Store History
The history of the Liberty Pole Store is as long and winding as a rabbit trail through a briar patch! Therefore, although we have enjoyed perusing old clippings and stories, please know the following history is subject to revision. If you personally have pictures, stories, or articles related to the history of the store or Liberty Pole, please contact us!
Early settlers to the Liberty Pole area coincided with the original land surveys conducted in the Town of Franklin in the mid-1840s.
John McCullough arrived in the spring of 1844, and Hiram and Samuel Rice followed in 1845. These three pioneers are credited as not only the first settlers to the Town of Franklin, but also the entirety of Vernon County.
Concrete documentation is lacking to connect any of them to the store building at present. However, Hiram Rice was reported to have sold the first goods in Liberty Pole, and his brother, Samuel, is reported as the first postmaster in 1847.
Another early settler, Jacob Higgins, arrived in 1849. According to a Vernon County history book originally published in 1884, Higgins, ”…continued in mercantile pursuits, was also postmaster of what was then known as Bad Ax postoffice, and continued in that office until his death [in 1858].”
The Vernon County Register of Deeds Office also records that he purchased the land where the store now sits in 1849. Therefore, it is likely that Higgins built the present store around 1850 as he became postmaster in 1851.
Tracking subsequent store proprietorship was a challenge up until 1867. That year, the Register’s Office lists Howard D. Williams as the owner of the store property. His brother, Clark D. Williams joined the enterprise in the 1860s or 1870s, and items bearing the name “Williams Bros.” were recently found in the store. They hired a young man named Knudt Peterson as clerk. In 1882, Peterson and a Daniel T. Fortney purchased the store from C. D. Williams. Per the Register’s Office, Peterson bought out D. Fortney, and operated the store until around 1890.
The store was predominantly owned by the Fortney family for the next thirty years. During this time, and for unknown reasons, owner Martin Fortney sold it to his wife for “$1 and love and affection”. In 1923, William Schmidt purchased the store and operated it as a beloved general store with the help of his son-in-law, Arnold “Arnie” Cade, for nearly five decades until his death in 1970. Arnie and his wife, Erma, then assumed ownership and ran the business until their respective deaths in 1991 and 1992. Their heirs sold the building to Lawrence and Valdeva Hermann, who operated it as a bent-and-dent for several years. In 1999, Nora and Michael Soltau purchased the store, specializing in giftware and custom embroidery. They also maintained a local history room about the store and the greater Liberty Pole area.
Now, we have finally reached the easiest history to verify! Tullan purchased the store from the Soltaus in 2021. He has since refurbished the retail space, reconfigured the back rooms into his workshop, and met his wonderful wife, Jennie, in the old storefront. The rest of the story is yet to be written – so stop in and help us write the next chapter!
