The Beaconsfield Supply Store is a one-story brick building in rural Ringgold County, Iowa, United States.[1] Built in 1916, it became the birthplace of the Hy-Vee chain of stores when Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg opened a general store together in 1930.[2] The building was later used for a variety of purposes, including a telephone exchange. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.[3]
The building serves as the community center for Beaconsfield, which, with 15 residents as of 2021,[4] has been described as the second smallest incorporated city in Iowa.[5]
History
In late 1929, the founders of Hy-Vee paid $3,000 to buy the building, which had previously housed a dry goods store that failed during the stock market crash.[6] It served as a retail store until 1956, when a local phone company took ownership.[7]
In 2021, the building was named one of the most endangered historic sites in Iowa.[8] The small local community is working to preserve and restore it, with the possibility of making it a museum.[9]
^Fritz, E. Mae (1989). John Rhodes (ed.). The Family of Hy-Vee: Sixty Years of Tradition, a history of Hy-Vee Food Stores. West Des Moines, Iowa: Hy-Vee. p. 10.
^Gahm, Marilyn (2007). "Beaconsfield Supply Store"(PDF). State Historical Society of Iowa. Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 2024-11-27. After they closed the store in 1933, other retailers operated out of the building until the Beaconsfield Telephone Coop bought it in 1956.
