Prior to the great fire of April 18, 1894, a mercantile business owned by George Hutcheson operated on this site, the current location of Algonquin Outfitters, under the name Hutcheson & Son. He had purchased it from Smith and Culp in 1883. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the fire, George Hutcheson rebuilt the store on the same site but withdrew from the business. William E. Hutcheson, R.J. Hutcheson and William Hanna of Port Carling then formed Hanna & Hutcheson Bros. to carry on the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1895, Matthew Wardell and his family moved in across the street at 77 Main St. E. Wardell had operated a large dried goods store in Toronto at Queen and Spadina. He moved the business to Huntsville to cater to lumbermen, selling them wool socks and heavy mackinaw breeches. Every foot of space would eventually be crammed with goods, from ladies’ wear to home furnishings and produce. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Wardells had five children: Maude (Mrs. George Donal Nickalls), Mary “Daisy” (Mrs. William Mawhinney), Claude, St. Clair, and Annetta, who married Charles Deeprose Boyd in 1910. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On December 28, 1911, a fire destroyed the Wardell’s dry goods business. He formed a partnership with Boyd, called Wardell, Boyd and Son, and they moved the business into the Hanna & Hutcheson building, which Wardell rented for $600 a year, and purchased Hutcheson’s entire stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between 1913 and 1917 the store was known as Wardell, Boyd and Son. Charles Boyd’s father, J.R. Boyd, established a grocery business next door at 90 Main Street East in 1917, known as J.R. Boyd and Son. After Boyd retired in 1919, they called the business Wardell and Company – the Busy Merchants, “Dealers in Dry Goods, Furnishings, Clothing, Millinery, Boots and Shoes, Groceries, Flour and Feed.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Later Wardell installed electricity in his store. His son Claude and daughter Maude purchased the building for $6,000 in 1920. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1939 the storefront was altered and new brick facing was applied as seen in this photograph. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The store was famous for Scottish woollens, Spode china, and Hudson’s Bay blankets. One summer they operated a store at Bigwin Inn. In the 1950s there was a branch store on Highway 11 and in the late ’70s early ’80s a store in Bracebridge catered to young people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 1957 Maude’s son Jack and grandson Donal Nickalls took over the business. In 1973 Donal and his wife Pat became the proprietors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The store was closed in 1986, and became Algonquin Outfitters in the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nSee more Wayback Wednesday photos here<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Photo via Muskoka Digital Archives, details from Muskoka Digital Archives and <\/em><\/em>Huntsville: With Spirit and Resolve.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\nDon\u2019t miss out on Doppler!<\/h5>\n