The Company Store

The Company Store. . This foundation marks the site of Nuttallburg's company store. Archeologists believe that it dates to the town's earliest days. Though few details are known about it, this store was probably similar to company stores throughout the coal fields., Virtually all mines had a store, owned by the mining company, that carried everything the miner and his family needed, The store became the town's social center. Since the coal company literally owned the town, the company store was usually the only place to shop., The company store played a big part in the lives of all the people connected with the mine; it was the meeting place for the women who took it over in the mornings and the men met there after supper. , John Nuttall II, grandson of Nuttallburg's founder, John Nuttall, The stores had an excellent stock of day to day goods but failed badly at Christmas time in having almost nothing out of the daily ordinary.... a man was driven into buying, as his wife's Christmas present, a good pocket knife, a washtub or a new axe. , John Nuttall II, The company store was part of an economic system that often abused workers. To ensure that miners shopped only at the company store, companies paid wages with scrip, (company currency, tokens, or credit) which could be spent only at the company store.