What's Historic About Brookville, Pennsylvania?

Truman's Store; In the Heart of Sigel
By Beth Williams

Henry Truman built the store we know as Truman's Store. It started in Sigel as a log cabin in 1865. Henry Truman was an orphan boy who came from Nottingham, England in 1848. He was only 12 years old when he came over to the U.S. He fought in the Civil War, and in 1865 opened the store in a log cabin until the present store was built, and his home was finished.

The Jefferson County Courthouse records show that the store started in 1865 with Henry Truman and James McClelland as partners. In 1867 Henry Truman bought out James McClelland, and the store was known as the Truman Company. Some people assume that in 1885 Henry Truman turned the store over to Frank and Sylvester Truman. They ran the store until 1892 when it was turned over to William Truman and operated it as Truman's Store. In 1903 the store again changed hands when it was sold to Harry Truman who ran the store up until 1919. At this time the store was bought by Frank Reinard and Wilbur Henderson who only ran the store for one week, and then sold it to Henry the second and Percy Shembert on April 12, 1921. After Henry Truman Jr.'s death the store was turned over to his wife Patsy Truman and her son Tim Truman.

On the second floor at one time was a home and sometimes part of the store. Only seasonal items, such as Christmas items were sold on the upper floor. But now the store holds many items of early life in the area. These items have been collected from the local people through the years. The last piece that was placed in the museum was a hand made bobsled.

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