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Beacon Correspondent
A step back in time may mean two paces forward as partial demolition of a historic building at Hydesville offers a serendipical glimpse into the town's colorful past. With an eye on future plans, Mike and Steve Murrish, owners of Murrish Market, are having the building, which formerly housed the business and the old Hydesville post office, dismantled while retaining that edifice portion that served as an early day school at another location in the community.
”The only part that will remain is that two-story original structure from the 1850s,” said Steve Murrish, adding that the brothers intend to restore it. At present the exterior, emblazoned with the name “Cooper's Market” in large letters, serves as both a curiosity and a reminder of the town's history, when numerous businesses lined the street that later became a well-traveled portion of Highway 36.
Through the years, the section to be retained had been moved several times -- as many as five times -- Steve Murrish said. The Hydesville school district was first established in 1859, after John Hyde set aside a townsite in 1858 in the area previously known as Goose Prairie. According to historical accounts, two schools were in use during the 1880s and 1890s. After the second school burned in 1897, children attended classes at a church.
The old, seven-classroom building, built to replace the burned one, was razed by June 1968, according to a news account at that time. Replacing it was the present-day Hydesville Grammar School, built east of the former school in 1963.
Although Cooper's Market was a forerunner of Murrish Market, it was not the first. The store and general merchandise business were originally owned by Frank Beckwith in the early 1900s, according to interviews with the late Juanita Cooper, a long-time resident of Hydesville and its former postmaster. Beckwith purchased the first school for $35 to use as a home for his bookkeeper, Sam Cerini. When Cerini left, the house was moved up the street to be used as a post office and then later was relocated by German H. Nelson, Cooper's father, who ran the store and post office for many years. School records reveal that Nelson attended grammar school in Hydesville.
”Picnic items” offered at Nelson's launched the business, though these were originally sold to supplement her father's garage service, Cooper reported.
After she and her brother Vernon inherited their father's business, Cooper and her husband Dick Cooper became the owners. They operated the market from 1945 until Dick Cooper's death in 1952.
In 1960, Juanita Cooper sold the building and business to the late Lewis and Rose Murrish, grandparents of the present owners. Changing hands again, the store was owned by the late Gordon and Joan Albee, who were followed as owners by Blair and Janet Langdon. The current owners, brothers Steve and Mike Murrish, bought the store and opened for business on April 1, 1979. Moving from the old building, they established their newer Murrish Market in June 2007 in a location adjacent to the former site. Also, for the convenience of locals and travelers along the highway, the Murrishes opened a service station.
In recent years, the post office became situated across the highway at its present location near the intersection of Rohnerville Road and Highway 36.
By Jan. 11, the demolition project, with the work being accomplished by a contractor, Rod Moschetti, opened up a new vista to those entering that intersection, allowing motorists an unobstructed view of the newer Murrish Market.
Since its opening more than four years ago, Murrish Market has seen an increase in business, said Steve Murrish. New additions include an ATM machine, services that include “take and bake” pizzas, propane tanks, and more. To better meet the needs of customers, “We keep watching for what people want,” Steve Murrish said.
There is 24-hour service available at the gas station now since new credit card readers were installed, he said.
As for the old building, plans include retaining the upstairs apartment and office space. What else is in mind for that historic edifice, used in recent years primarily for storage, remains to be seen. Mike Murrish's interest in antiques may provide an idea. The two owners will look into various options, and are, as Steve Murrish puts it, pleased that Murrish Market now has “great visibility.”
photo caption:
photos by Claudia Nelson/Beacon
1. Known in the past as Cooper's and the United States Post Office at Hydesville, this building owned by Mike and Steve Murrish is being partially demolished. Sections of the building that were part of the original structure have been torn down. What remains is a structure that once housed the Hydesville School, dating back to the late 1850s. The building in recent years housed the post office and Murrish Market, which moved into a nearby location in June 2007.
2. A horse and rider and a sign from the past bring reminders of Hydesville's bygone days. In operation between 1945 and 1952, Cooper's was a forerunner of Murrish Market, last in a long line of owners extending back to the early 1900s. Mike and Steve Murrish, who have owned and operated the business since 1979, plan to restore the building's historic, two-story section.
