DuPre Bookstore: I still do not know where it is
When I first started this blog a few days ago, I do not think I fully realized the difficulty of finding information about people and places that have very little historical significance. Today, I began researching the first article on a widely unknown source, and decided to start on a building located in historic downtown Spartanburg(my home town)...the Dupre Bookstore.
The Dupre bookstore was originally founded by Warren Dupre, the son in law of the ex-Wofford professor and bishop William Wallace Duncan, the original builder of the Dupre house. The bookstore was made around 1890, since it is mentioned in a picture of downtown Spartanburg, which was drawn in 1891. Starting in 1892, the book store was mentioned several times in The Carolina Spartan, The Spartan, and The Herald and News, mostly through ads. Some of the ads about the bookstore mention the affordable printing, Almanacs for a quarter, and even a second floor art gallery.
One notable aspect of the Dupre Bookstore is the care it shows for teaching. A majority of the ads mention the affordable school supplies, and even reduced costs for all teachers. It is understandable why he did this, Spartanburg began as a college town, with both Converse and Wofford, so a teacher discount would greatly increase the amount of consumers.
However, as with most stores, it also has its bad moments. On August 24, 1909 at 4 o'clock in the morning the store was robbed by the Policeman F. R. Mulligan, who was able to simply walk in and take some money out of the register, since he had a key. Luckily, Policeman Nolen was stationed in the store, saw the event occur and chased Mulligan through North Church St. and Kennedy Place, before entering an alley at Bagwell's Corner. Then Nolen shot at Mulligan 3 times, but missed all of them, which gave Mulligan the time to overtake Nolen and make him cry like a baby. Mulligan was eventually caught even though he was a candidate for the new chief of police.
Sadly, sometime after 1910, the bookstore closed, and never reopened. I still would like to know more about the location and timeline of the store, so I asked the Spartanburg library after about 2 hours of research, and I will repost this if I find out more.
The Dupre bookstore was originally founded by Warren Dupre, the son in law of the ex-Wofford professor and bishop William Wallace Duncan, the original builder of the Dupre house. The bookstore was made around 1890, since it is mentioned in a picture of downtown Spartanburg, which was drawn in 1891. Starting in 1892, the book store was mentioned several times in The Carolina Spartan, The Spartan, and The Herald and News, mostly through ads. Some of the ads about the bookstore mention the affordable printing, Almanacs for a quarter, and even a second floor art gallery.
One notable aspect of the Dupre Bookstore is the care it shows for teaching. A majority of the ads mention the affordable school supplies, and even reduced costs for all teachers. It is understandable why he did this, Spartanburg began as a college town, with both Converse and Wofford, so a teacher discount would greatly increase the amount of consumers.
However, as with most stores, it also has its bad moments. On August 24, 1909 at 4 o'clock in the morning the store was robbed by the Policeman F. R. Mulligan, who was able to simply walk in and take some money out of the register, since he had a key. Luckily, Policeman Nolen was stationed in the store, saw the event occur and chased Mulligan through North Church St. and Kennedy Place, before entering an alley at Bagwell's Corner. Then Nolen shot at Mulligan 3 times, but missed all of them, which gave Mulligan the time to overtake Nolen and make him cry like a baby. Mulligan was eventually caught even though he was a candidate for the new chief of police.
Sadly, sometime after 1910, the bookstore closed, and never reopened. I still would like to know more about the location and timeline of the store, so I asked the Spartanburg library after about 2 hours of research, and I will repost this if I find out more.
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