Nestled between the Armory Municipal Center and the Cherokee National Peace Pavilion along the small creek, Town Creek Mercantile opened its store in the former Phoenix Livery last month. The building has been part of the Tahlequah community since the late 19th century.
John Wilson once owned the building and operated a stagecoach line between Fort Smith, Arkansas and Muskogee. Locals used the building to hold their horses before cars drove to Tahlequah.
Shop owner Amber Forrest isn’t entirely sure when the building opened, but she said it was sometime in the 19th century. Since then, the building has also been used as the Capitol Lounge, Tahlequah’s first bus station, and Able Copy Shop & Supply.
The building stood empty for about 13 years before Forrest reached out to the owner, who offered her a lease on the shop. Since then, Forrest has worked on upgrading the building to turn it into an antique shop. She works with local historians to understand how the building was used to better tell this story.
Upon entering the building, shoppers will notice gold-colored mailboxes behind the cash register that were installed when the building was still operated by Able Copy Shop & Supply. The mailboxes were used by locals and especially NSU students who needed a post. This winter, children can use these boxes to send letters to Santa Claus. Forrest said Santa plans to reply to children who take the time to write him a letter.
“We’re going to be doing a timeline up there over the mailboxes,” said Cheryl Brashier, a local artist who works and sells at Town Creek Mercantile.
On the north side of the building there is a brick wall that was originally used for the livre stable. You can still see windows in which horses stick their heads outside to get some fresh air.
“After all these years it has withstood the weather. The outside walls were done differently. It’s not your normal cement mix. So it has stood the test of time. It’s the original walls from the outside, ”said Forrest.
Painting played an important role in Tahlequah’s history after the 1895 fire that started in another paint shop in town.
“What happened is that Tahlequah didn’t have a fire station in the 19th century. One of the other paint stations caught fire, causing part of Tahlequah to catch fire, ”Forrest said.
She explained that when the other two paintworks burned to the ground, Tahlequah relied on the Phoenix paintwork to meet the city’s transportation needs.
They are working to restore a front door that was used in the early 1900s.
“There is old wood from the early 20th century up there. We go in and get it out, and we take the wood and put the timeline on it. The original door of the phoenix is in the rafters. We’ll take it off, put it back together, and put it in the store, ”Forrest said.
Forrest and Brashier were at work, among other things, painting walls, rewiring lights, and making changes to suit the 20 vendors that now make up the space. Sellers sell antiques as well as new goods.
Decorative items are displayed in the main room of the shop. At this time of year pumpkins and autumn decorations adorn the walls, but they are already decorating your halls for Christmas.
In the back of the shop they turned a door into a “Guys Room”. Brashier wanted to turn the room into a treasure trove of rusty, metal, or industrial objects. The space has wooden struts, fishing gear, drills, fenders, oil cans, tools, and other items, many of which have been turned into works of art.
The ladies’ room also features works of art, but mostly vendors sell clothes and accessories.
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On Thursday, October 21, Town Creek Mercantile is inviting one of its shop assistants, Stacy Brown, to a cloth pumpkin making workshop. All materials are provided. You can find more information on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/towncreekmercantile.
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