SHELBURNE FALLS — A smidgen of the former Potter Grain Co. surfaced this week when construction workers removed siding from the Salmon Falls Marketplace building, revealing an old flour advertisement painted on the exposed brick building wall.
According to “The History of Buckland: Bicentennial Addition,” the building that became the Potter Grain Co. was built in 1894 for a Rufus Covell, who ran a grain business for several years. He later sold it to Waymes N. Potter and Sons of Greenfield, they used it as a branch store, naming it the Potter Grain Co. Then Charles M. Cox Co., using the trade name of Wirthmore Feed, acquired the building in 1929, changing the name to “Wirthmore” and doing business until 1967. Then Agway Inc. took over the building, using it for storage.
According to Donna Gates, manager of the Salmon Falls Artisans Showroom, the building became a mixed-use building of artists and offices sometime during the 1970s, and in 1985, Nancy Dean Kreger founded the Salmon Falls Artisans Showroom. The building was purchased by glass artist Josh Simpson in 1992, and it now houses the Blue Rock Restaurant, as well as the Artisans Showroom and several offices.
Workers are planning to attach an elevator on the side of the building, which will make the three-story building handicap accessible.