Century-old hardware store to go up for auction in Clark County

MARYSVILLE, IN (WAVE) - A store that has stood for more than 100 years will be up for auction this weekend - piece by piece.

Marysville Hardware has served the people in rural Clark County since 1910 but now, the wife of its late owner says she simply has to move on.

Sue Righthouse says it was always much more than a hardware store. Among the belts and the saws, her husband J.R. also stashed lots of antiques: an old railroad crossing sign, a Coca-Cola billboard and more. "To my knowledge, these rotabins, which are full of bolts and you have to be careful with the drawers, those were in the original hardware store," Righthouse said.

Now all of it is up for auction. When J.R. passed away suddenly in February 2014, Sue never re-opened. "It was just hard to replace him," she said. "He was the business."

So, she had to make the hard decision to part ways with the store that was started by her husband's great-grandfather Bussey and passed through four generations.

"It's hard," Sue said. "I'm hoping the Bussey's and the Righthouses aren't up there going, 'You shouldn't have.' I have to make decisions and I have to live with the decisions and God's provided."

Marysville Hardware literally helped the community rebuild after the March 2, 2012 tornado. "We were the command center right after the tornado," Sue said. "We were the only working bathroom from the Friday to the Sunday night."

Now, with its bids, the community can help Sue rebuild too, a new life.

Shaun Logsdon is the auctioneer. "Somebody is going to walk away with a deal and there's going to be some things that bring more than they probably should and it all works itself out," he said.

Everything must go - all the antiques, the inventory, even the store and the rental house behind it.

Sue says it will be hard to watch. In fact, she'll be out of town during the actual auction. She hopes it will be bought by someone who has the community in mind just like her husband and his family always did.

"This really was J.R.'s mission field," Sue said. "This was how he took care of people and that's what he wanted to do."

The auction starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 9. You can register starting at 9 a.m. The real estate will be sold around 10:30 and the auction will continue late into the afternoon. For more information, visit marysvillehardware.com

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