I was looking through my photographs from my 2008 tour of the Michigan Road when I came upon photos of Minear’s Department Store on the square in Greensburg. I was surprised to find an old-style department store still operating anywhere, let alone in small-town Indiana. It had been in business since 1865.
My favorite detail was the store name painted inside the plate-glass windows.
I would have loved to see their neon lit at dusk.
The store sat across the street to the west from the Decatur County Courthouse, which is best known for the tree growing out of the clock tower.
I poked around the Internet a little to see if Minear’s is still in business; sadly, it closed in 2012. Was it the last old-style department store? Do you know of any others still operating? What was the department store in your hometown when you were young? (In my hometown of South Bend, it was Robertson’s.)
I’ve documented Indiana’s historic Michigan Road extensively. To read all about it, click here.
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