Also pictured in the photograph is the Sanford General Store, founded by Henry Sanford (1823-1891) in March 1871. The store was created with hopes of bolstering the success of the Sanford Sawmill, opened the year prior. The creation of the store was the result of advising offered to Sanford by Edwin Eastman. Eastman advised that a general store would be the surest way to improve profitability of the ailing sawmill, as mill employees would be paid goods from the store. The general store’s initial years of operation were plagued by problems. The store suffered from periodic shortages of crucial supplies and local farmers, faced with poor agricultural production, had a difficult time turning their produce into the cash needed to purchase goods. The only way Sanford proved able to ensure consistent sales was through the extension of credit to local settlers. This approach proved untenable, however, as impoverished customers proved unable to pay their debts to the store. In January 1873, the store was owed $4,000 by delinquent customers, a number that ballooned to $25,000 by early 1879. As Sanford’s personal financial state suffered, maintaining the stock of groceries became increasingly difficult. By March 1879, Sanford, unable to continue the operation of the general store, disposed of the remaining supplies and leased the building, alongside the wharf and its attached warehouse, for three years terms at $550 per year.]]>
Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.]]> Special and Area Studies Collections, George A. Smathers Libraries, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.]]> Sanford Collection, Chase Collection, RICHES of Central Florida.]]> http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/chase.htm.]]> Sanford, page 26.]]> Chase Collection is comprised of four separate accessions from various donors, including Cecilia Johnson, the granddaughter of Joshua Coffin Chase and the children of Randall Chase.]]> Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. Rights to this item belong to the said institution, and therefore inquiries about the item should be directed there. RICHES of Central Florida has obtained permission from Special and Area Studies Collections at the University of Florida to display this item for educational purposes only.]]>