W. E. Long & Sons General Store Records

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have been transferred to the James Madison University Special Collection Library. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], W. E. Long & Sons General Store Records, 1865-1971, SC 0218, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Summary

Extent:
2.31 cubic feet 6 boxes
Creator:
W. E. Long & Sons, Rocky's Gold Silver & Antiques, Suter, Scott Hamilton, and Suter, Scott Hamilton
Abstract:
The W. E. Long & Sons General Store Records, 1865-1971, primarily document the business activities of W.E. Long & Sons General Store in Rockingham County, Virginia. Records from the Mt. Clinton Post Office, predating W. E. Long's time as Mt. Clinton postmaster, are also included.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], W. E. Long & Sons General Store Records, 1865-1971, SC 0218, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

The W. E. Long & Sons General Store Records, 1865-1971, primarily document the business activities of W.E. Long & Sons General Store in Rockingham County, Virginia. Materials include account books and ledgers, invoices and receipts, advertisements, billheads, correspondence, and documentation of expenses and sales related to the business dealings of W.E. Long & Sons. Records from the Mt. Clinton Post Office, predating W.E. Long's time as Mt. Clinton postmaster, are also included.

Biographical / historical:

Samuel Long (1821-1892) was the original owner of the Long Store. He worked primarily as a farmer and dry goods merchant, running numerous stores before moving from Shenandoah County to Rockingham County in 1868. In 1880, he bought the Hopkins Upper Mill on Muddy Creek and established the Chrisman general store and post office. His son, William Evans Long (1855-1926), was named postmaster of the Chrisman post office in 1881. Samuel Long also established another store around 1869 in Green Mount, Virginia. William E. Long was named postmaster of the Green Mount branch in 1889, and took over operations from J.W. Mauck. In 1892, Samuel Long bought A.B. Driver & Company in Mt. Clinton, Virginia, and changed the name to S. Long & Sons. At this time, William E. Long was also appointed postmaster of the Mt. Clinton post office. William E. Long and his brother-in-law, John B. Bowman (1844-1893) ran the Mt. Clinton branch of the store under the name Long & Bowman, until the death of Bowman in 1893. Upon the death of Samuel Long in 1892, William's sister sold her husband's half of the Mt. Clinton store to William for $2,500. The name of the store was changed to W.E. Long & Sons once William Long's children, specifically C. Edward (1887-1961) and Frank R. (1901-1958), reached maturity. The store operated under this name until it was turned over by William Long's sons to a nephew, Samuel Claude Long (1925-1988), who renamed the store S.C. Long & Sons in 1959. It remained under his name until his retirement in 1988 when it left the family's possession. A quick succession of owners succeeded S. Claude Long until the store was torn down in 1995. The Long family owned and operated the Long family store for roughly 95 years, managing to sustain a business through WWI, the Great Depression, and WWII.

Acquisition information:
Materials in this collection were donated by Scott Suter in 2001; purchased from Scott Suter between 2007 and 2008; purchased from Dusty's Antique Market (Ronald L. Fulk) in Mt. Sidney, Virginia in 2008; purchased from Rocky's Gold Silver in Weyer's Cave, Virginia in 2009; and found as orphaned material in a Carrier Library filing cabinet in 2016. A 2020 acquisition comprising W. E. Long Sons shipping books and an account book was added to the collection in 2024.
Processing information:

This collection comprises numerous accessions related to W. E. Long & Sons General Store and the Long family of Mt. Clinton, Virginia. These accessions include 2001-0912, 2007-0419a, 2007-0419b, 2008-0311, 2008-1215b, and 2016-0501. Parts of this collection were previously cataloged as Long's Store Account Books (SC 4056) and Mt. Clinton Post Office Records (SC 4057).

In order to streamline the process of applying collection numbers, Special Collections staff completed a large-scale renumbering campaign in 2018-2019. This collection was previously cataloged as SC 5044. During this time, the collection was physically consolidated into fewer boxes and minor updates made to the intellectual arrangement. However, the overall intellectual arrangement of the collection was maintained.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into six series. Generally, each series is arranged chronologically. Exceptions to this arrangement were made in order to keep like materials together within a series.

  1. Invoices, Advertisements, and Correspondence, 1865-1955
  2. Purchases and Orders, 1893-1924
  3. Bank Ledgers, Expenses, and Sales, 1866-1971
  4. Long's Store Account Books, 1869-1921
  5. Long's Store Records, 1877-1929
  6. Mt. Clinton Post Office Records, 1879-1893
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard