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Lowder Hardware, that was located at the corner of West Main and First Streets, closed for good
in late 1996. The Jan. 5, 1997 edition of the Stanly News & Press included an article by Beth McLain where she shared memories of visiting Lowder Hardware around Christmas as a child.

According to her story… “Young people today probably will find this hard to believe, but there was a time when Lowder Hardware had the biggest and best toy department anywhere in Stanly County…before K-Mart and Walmart stores came to Albemarle, even before Mason’s, Grants and Sky City made their appearance and disappearance, there was Lowder Hardware. When I was a young child, my parents would take me and my brother and sisters to Lowder Hardware and we would make the long walk to the back of the store where we could go upstairs to the toy department. As I recall, there were fabulous things awaiting children up there. To a small child way back then, the toy department at Lowder Hardware was as good as it got.”

McLain goes on to talk about the sounds of the floorboards and the unique smells she remembered as you walked through the building.

Do you have memories of visiting Lowder Hardware’s toy department? Send an email to lpbramlett@hotmail.com and share your stories.

{Lewis Bramlett – Stanly County Historical Society}