Henderson’s Store — Verdery, South Carolina

This former general store in Verdery, a small community in the unincorporated area of Bradley, sits roughly between Greenwood and McCormick in Greenwood County. The store was known as Henderson’s Store, named for its original owner, Miller Henderson. The building also served as a post office in its early years. It is now owned by the Barksdale family. Please see Martin Barksdale’s comments about the old store under the Reflections header below.

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Reflections on Henderson’s Store

Martin Barksdale, whose father now owns Henderson’s Store, sent us the following information in May, 2019:

This is the old Miller Henderson store in Verdery. It was built around the same time as the depot for the railroad. Trains started running in 1882. My father owns the property. My grandmother’s father had a similar store next to it for many years.

The Greenwood Museum has old pictures of Verdery from the railroad museum. This store was also a post office, and the stamps and many of the papers are in Columbia at the State Museum, donated by the previous owner, Frank Dukes.

The store operated until 1972 when Miller Henderson sold it and his old home place across the street. He retired to Greenville and later passed away. My family has been on our property since at least 1879. I am the fifth generation to own our farm here. The building is in distress and may have to be dismantled for safety reasons due to its proximity to the road.

Mr. Barksdale also posted this alert on Facebook in early April, 2018. We are grateful to him for sharing the above information, and we hope that his father’s sign will be returned soon.

Someone has stolen [the 7-UP] sign from the old store in Verdery last night or early this morning. If anyone knows where it may be, I simply ask it to be returned intact … no questions asked, no prosecution. A police report has been made, and the auction houses are notified. Old signs like this I understand are cool and nostalgic and worth money, but it is both historical and belongs to my Dad. Thank you for any help.

Bonnie Miller Rothwell, a member of our South Carolina Picture Project Facebook group, adds this about the proprietor of Henderson’s Store: “He was a bachelor – a kind, good man. We used to go there when I was a child. We called him Mr. Miller. He was a great person, very kind.”

Henderson’s Store: Help Us Learn More

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Henderson’s Store Map

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