Old Waldron Store – ca. 1858
For over 100 years this building served as general store and post office, tea room and pool hall. It began as the Union Store for the New England Protective Union, Division 756. Later owners included Dennis Foss, Jr., John Jewell, J. W. Cater, George Strachn and the Waldron family. The second story has a unique arched ceiling and boasts fine acoustics. The upstairs hall hosted meetings of such groups as the Knights of Saint Crispin (shoe workers in the nearby mill), and the Grand Army of the Republic Veterans Association, as well as serving as a theatre, concert hall, and later as Strafford’s first and only movie theater. The Society is working to list the Store on the New Hamsphire State Register of Historic Places.
In 1988, the building was donated to the Society by the NH Department of Transportation and moved from its location at the corner of Province Road and Drake Hill Road to its current location at 520 Province Road. The downstairs was renovated into the Frederic Shiere Meeting Room and a kitchen was added. The second floor has been restored and a new fire escape has been added. The Waldron Store is now a year-round function hall and serves the Society as an important gathering place in all weather.
In 1988, the building was donated to the Society by the NH Department of Transportation and moved from its location at the corner of Province Road and Drake Hill Road to its current location at 520 Province Road. The downstairs was renovated into the Frederic Shiere Meeting Room and a kitchen was added. The second floor has been restored and a new fire escape has been added. The Waldron Store is now a year-round function hall and serves the Society as an important gathering place in all weather.
