When you turn left off East Main Street and onto U.S. Highway 79 heading north toward Wal-Mart, if you look off to the right after you pass Magnolia Pump and Supply, there’s a new building that shares the same drive: Mod Maverick Studio. Its history, and how it came to be there, offers a rare glimpse into a Columbia County family.
In 1919, J. H. Wilson opened a general mercantile store in what would later be called the Lydesdale community in the northeast part of Columbia County on what was formerly known as the Warnock Springs Road, now Columbia County Road 61. This store would serve that community for almost 100 years, with Louis Wilson taking over from J.H., and Roger Wilson stepping in after his dad was no longer able to run the business.
One of the best known attributes of what would become Wilson’s Store was the community service that was offered to local farmers and residents. Many times the Wilsons would furnish the farmers in that area with whatever they needed in the way of seed, fertilizer and other products so that they would be able to make their crop that year, thereby keeping many of them in the farming business and allowing them to prosper. The Wilson family also operated a cotton gin in that location during the heyday of cotton farming in Columbia County.
The store has passed down from one generation to the next, and has changed and grown along with the times, which is probably the one thing that best explains its longevity other than the commitment of the family to their business.
Now a new generation has moved into the spotlight. Not only is there a location change but a change in the business itself. No longer is it a small mercantile store out on the Warnock Springs Road; it has morphed into a large building with a variety of products.
“We have a modern look,” Bonnie Wilson Wood explained, “but we also have rustic and old, but with modern touches. We wanted that barn look, too, and we worked with architect Jerry Hollensworth, who is also a relative, to get the exact building we had in mind.”
Wood took a minute to explain. “My first love was interior design and fashion merchandizing when I was in college. I had an appreciation for art and art history and took art classes, though I ended up getting an education degree. Now, I’m back to my first love, and I’ve been able to modernize and repurpose vintage stuff. I love to make something old new again.”
And that’s one of the things people will find in the store. There are many things old that have been made new again, with an updated look. “We’ve always had an independent streak running through our family, and we’ve been pioneers, moving forward and never giving up. I’d say we have a bit of the maverick spirit in our family,” she laughed. “After all, we grew up on a farm and my dad rode in the rodeo and shoed horses. It was only natural that I would have a love for horses, and I participated in barrel racing and went to many horse shows when I was growing up. Maverick just seemed like the perfect fit for a part of the name of our new business.”
Wood is the buyer and designer for the business, “but we all have our little niche,” she said. Wood still teaches art in Magnolia Public Schools but will be able to move seamlessly into the Wilson family business after she retires, which is one of the attributes of the type of business the family has run over the years. There was always a place for family members to step in and put their own unique spin on the operation.
Other family members pitch in to help as well. Dr. Amy Wilson Cross is a local pediatrician and has her own private practice which keeps her busy, but she’s the photographer for the store. Jeannie Wilson Hampton is a speech pathologist, but is computer savvy and handles most of the computer work. Hampton, along with her friend Mitzi McCook, will also be offering a new service through the store called Sign Gypsies. They will provide yard greeting signs for birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, and other significant events in people’s lives. The grandchildren run the social media sites and do other work in and around the store, continuing the tradition of Wilson family involvement in the business.
“The upstairs art studio is being used for repurposing right now,” Wood explained, “but eventually I want to teach private art lessons for kids and hold workshops for adults. This whole store is about doing things we love to do and was created to have something to do. My love came together with all the things we use in our interior design, which is a mix of industrial, antique and modern.”
Jan Wilson makes the jewelry, repurposes furniture, and makes aprons, bags, and purses. She has a long history in the antique business in Magnolia and Columbia County. The store also has a number of other unique products, including vintage lamps and accessories. It also has gourmet food products and a number of other holiday and gift items including Corkcicle tumblers, Linden Plantation honey, Heirloom Traditions chalk paint, Southern Girls gourmet popcorn, Taste of Gourmet mixes, Rewined, Capri, and Blackjack candles. They also have Hymn and Company T-shirts. “This is one of our most popular items,” Jan said, “as people really like the quotes from hymnals that are on these shirts.”
Roger has a separate shop with an outside entrance that connects to the main building and has stayed true to the mercantile roots of the store. He has a large assortment of guns, ammo, knives, accessories, and just about every type of feed common in this area. He stocks feed for cattle, horses, goats, deer, chickens, hogs, rabbits, catfish, and birds. He also has mineral blocks and shavings available. The gun shop pretty much operates the same as it did at Wilson Store.
“When my dad was no longer able to run the store and I took over,” Roger said, “I wanted to do something that was fun. I liked all kinds of guns, old and new, those that were collectible, and so forth. It’s always been a hobby for me, so I opened a gun shop inside the store. After all, if you like what you do, it’s not like work,” he laughed.
The store also has another connection to the Lydesdale community from which it traces its roots. Roger hauled about 400 loads of dirt from the Wilson farm to the location where the store now sits. “I also hauled about 20 loads of rock in here when we built this place,” he explained. Most of the work on the site preparation for the store was done by the Wilson family.
Roger and his wife Jan, who runs the day-to-day operations of Mod Maverick Studio, also owned a trucking company and a large-scale feed business at the old Wilson Store location, which they operated under the moniker Circle W Farms. The two have been in business most of their lives but still get up every morning to continue the family tradition. At some point in the future, the business will pass to another generation, continuing its long history in Columbia County.