Looking Back: Olney History Series The First Grocery Store in Olney

Welcome back, friends! The year was 1891, and things were starting to take off in Olney. A one-room schoolhouse is built, and the first time Olney is officially mentioned happens.

On Wednesday, June 24, 1891, the Graham Leader published a brief article about J.M. Brisco, who would soon build a store in Olney. Although the story is hard to make out from the UNT Digital Archives, it is later stated in an Ol ney Enterprise story from March 1992 by Mr. Penn that according to records supplied by an Olney resident (W.R. Maggie), it was, in fact, Henry Groves who officially marked the beginnings of Olney by building the first store located in Olney in 1891. The name of the store was “Groves General Store.”

This bit of history is still debated on which was the first store built; it appears many points of history are up for debate. Stewarts is the only grocery store in Olney that is part of the past, present and future history of Olney. The store was established in 1975 by Harold and Faye Stewart the grocery is still owned and operated by the Stewart Family.

Thank you for journeying back into Olney’s great and proud history.

Please join the Enterprise next week on its journey through Olney History.