Former Bryant Bros & Company at Dry Fork (later Jim’s Warehouse)

Those who grew up between the areas of Dry Fork and Spring Garden may recall hearing about the Bryant brothers and their numerous business dealings between 1900 until around the 1950s. They were successful merchants throughout the county and a few of their old stores remain standing. These Bryants were a large family of eleven siblings born to James R. Bryant (born 1847) and former Miss Mary T. “Mollie” Jackson (born 1852). 

The oldest son James W. “Bud” Bryant, who was born in 1874, was perhaps the most well-known of the bunch. Sometime as a young man in the 1890s, Bud had a store constructed at the Dry Fork railroad crossing. He soon went into business with two of his younger brothers, Charles D. Bryant (born 1876) and Letcher A. Bryant (born 1885), thus the “Bryant Bros. & Company” came to fruition. The general merchandise store advertised the sale of heavy and fancy groceries, drugs, and fertilizers. Bud also served as postmaster of Dry Fork between the years of 1905 and 1909. In those days, the train stopped at Dry Fork Depot and the active community was implemented as a town for about fourteen years (1906-1920). After Bud Bryant passed away in 1943, his son J.W. Jr., managed the store until the vast family property exceeding 600 acres was segmented and auctioned off in 1963. The current building that stands at the tracks–which operated in recent decades as Jim’s Warehouse–is thought to have been constructed around 1926 and is the third building to house Bud Bryant’s Store. Around the same time, the Bryant brothers opened a store at Blairs after the new railroad lines were put in. The brothers partnered with Burke O. Johnson who also served as the community’s first postmaster and established “Bryant Bros. & Johnson” store. This second freight office allowed the Bryant legacy to thrive throughout the county. The building still stands as a wonderful shop called “Sunnydell Farmhouse and John’s Antiques.” 

Old Bryant Bros. & Johnson Store at Blairs (now John’s Antiques)

Sometime before 1908, another store was opened in Chestnut Level by Bud’s brother Letcher that he named “Bryant’s Department Store.” Surviving receipts from both stores list all three of their names at the top and identify their freight and express office in Dry Fork. The store in Chestnut Level offered a wide selection of the same goods including flour, fish, salt, lye, hay, etc., with the addition of furniture, coffins, and caskets as well at Letcher’s store. He stocked the shelves from a few select wholesale dealers in Danville, including R. J. Reynolds tobacco and cigarettes, fresh fruits from Gardner & Clark, sugar and beans from James I. Pritchett & Son, fresh meats from George E. Harris, and different grass seeds from Smith Seed & Feed Company. He sold barrels of flour from the Dry Fork Milling Company and Galveston Mills. He ordered a few items from Lynchburg, such as a selection of candy from the Harris, Woodson & Co., medicines from the Strother Drug Company, and boots from the Virginia Rubber Company. He also ordered Anvil brand overalls from High Point, N.C. Letcher’s store served as a gathering space where community members could stop by, enjoy refreshments, and play a game of pool. Letcher’s son Landon also opened a small Amoco service station and luncheonette on Route 29 shortly north of Blairs.

The middle brother C.D. opened his own country store in the Spring Garden community. He named it “C. D. Bryant & Company” which also kept its freight and express office at the store in Dry Fork. C.D. and Letcher expanded further into the automobile industry during the 1930s with business partner R.W. Gravely in Danville. The business known as the “Bryant-Gravely Auto Co.” operated on Lynn Street and advertised sales for old car companies like Hupmobile or Nash and Lafayette. C.D. Bryant & Company remained under management of three generations of C. D. Bryants, namely Charles, his son Clarence Sr., and a grandson Clarence Jr. (also known as “Pete”). The 1950 census showed that Mr. Jim Atkinson lived adjacent to Pete and worked with him. Jim purchased the Bryant Bros. Store in the 1960s and it operated as Jim’s Grocery. He later focused on the sale of fertilizer and it was renamed Jim’s Warehouse until it closed after about sixty years of operation.