DAVEY'S GENERAL STORE
From Beans to Boots: One-Stop Shopping

Frank Davey never struck it rich, but his willingness to extend credit kept many a miner from going hungry. From about 1898 until Davey's death in 1947, you could buy life's necessities -- groceries, blasting powder, a kerosene lamp, school pens or ladies' high-button shoes --all under one roof. This store served as Garnet's only mercantile business after the 1912 fire. While adults remembered Davey's kind acts, children knew him as a grouchy man deserving of frequent pranks.

Shopping-1906 Style
Pretend you've entered the store in 1906 with a shopping list. Need a new shirt? Look to the left at long shelves heaped with clothes, lamps, dishes, pots and pans, linens, vases and utensils. Pick out a pair of boots from the center table. The groceries will take longer. You'll need peas, rice, pickles, dried beans and apples -all stored in barrels. Pick up a few canned goods. Next, cross the sawdust floor of the meat section to order fresh beef. Ask Frank Davey to grind some coffee too. Finally, catch up on town gossip with a couple friends seated close to the barrel stove.

1906 Davey's Store Prices
1 doz. eggs: 30 cents
1 lb. butter: 30 cents
1 can salmon: 20 cents
1 can milk: 10 cents
1 lamp chimney: 15 cents
1 can coffee: 25 cents
1 can oysters: 15 cents
shaving soap: 10 cents

Frank Davey Takes The Stage
Not content with the store alone, Davey took over the stage line to Bearmouth and a freighting business. He named his two workhorses Bald and Eagle and kept them in a barn above the Wells Hotel.

Other Stories
Gold In The Garnets
Chinese Presence
Town of Garnet Named in 1897
Family Living in a Gold Mining Town?
Riches Fade
Saving Garnet Ghost Town
Kelly's Saloon
J. K. Wells Hotel
Ole's Tavern
Dahl Cabin
Blacksmith Shop
Garnet School
Jail
Miners Union Hall
Adams House
Honeymoon Cabin
Warren Park
Highlights from interview with Mary Jane Morin, June 11, 1999
Letter from Hills Bros. Coffee to Mrs. Adams
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Copyright © 2000, Garnet Preservation Association and Bureau of Land Management of Montana