The Beaconsfield Supply Store is a one-story brick building in rural

Ringgold County, Iowa Ringgold County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 4,663, making it the Iowa county with the second-smallest population. The county seat is Mount Ayr. The county is named after Maj. Samu ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Built in 1916, it became the birthplace of the

Hy-Vee Hy-Vee, Inc. (), is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets in the Midwestern and Southern United States, with more than 280 locations in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, with stores planned in ...

chain of stores when Charles Hyde and David Vredenburg opened a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

together in 1930. The building was later used for a variety of purposes, including a

telephone exchange A telephone exchange, telephone switch, or central office is a central component of a telecommunications system in the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or in large enterprises. It facilitates the establishment of communication circuits ...

. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The building serves as the community center for

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

, which, with 15 residents as of 2021, has been described as the second smallest incorporated city in

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

History

In late 1929, the founders of Hy-Vee paid $3,000 to buy the building, which had previously housed a dry goods store that failed during the

stock market crash A stock market crash is a sudden dramatic decline of stock prices across a major cross-section of a stock market, resulting in a significant loss of paper wealth. Crashes are driven by panic selling and underlying economic factors. They often fol ...

. It served as a retail store until 1956, when a local phone company took ownership. In 2021, the building was named one of the most endangered historic sites in Iowa. The small local community is working to preserve and restore it, with the possibility of making it a museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaconsfield Supply Store Hy-Vee Commercial buildings completed in 1916 National Register of Historic Places in Ringgold County, Iowa Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Iowa 1916 establishments in Iowa