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Sep 17, 2021
Media: Watercolor
Size: 12x9 in
My friend Amanda and I took some time on a beautiful autumn morning ot paint en plein air in downtown Columbia, Tennessee. We stood back to back, she painting west and me painting east. I painted the corner where Puckett's now operates. I researched not only the origins of Puckett’s Grocery (Restaurant) but also the history of the building at 15 Public Square. Regretfully, I could not find much on either, which is very surprising. Maury County has a long track record of historians photographing, painting, and writing about it’s 1500+ antebellum structures, but after a visit to Michelle at the Archives learned that no one has written a history on either subject. The original Puckett’s Grocery is located in Leipers Fork, Tennessee, on the county line between Williamson and Maury counties. It was established as a general store by the Puckett family in the 1950s and carried fresh produce, groceries, and gasoline. The name and concept were purchased by Andy Marshall in 1998 who turned the general store idea into a restaurant and music venue which is the Puckett’s we have today in Nashville, Franklin, Columbia, Murfreesboro, Pigeon Forge and Chattanooga. He didn’t, however, purchase the original Puckett’s. It stayed in the family until this past summer when I believe it sold to Aubrey Preston. Most people from the Dimple of the Universe remember 15 Public Square as the home to Porter-Walker Hardware, established in 1907 and occupying that space until the early 2000s. Today I’ve researched the Sanborn maps through the Library of Congress but have learned very little about this space before Porter-Walker. The only thing I remember is that the space had large nail heads driven down the middle of the store, and it’s been told Porter and Walker had a falling out and divided the business space in half, so each could remain on his side of the store without having to encounter the other. I have no idea if that story has an ounce of truth to it, but I do know if you visit Puckett’s today and belly up to the bar, you’ll see the old floor has been salvaged and the boards with all the nail heads have been upcycled into the bar top itself. My friend Amanda and I took some time on a beautiful autumn morning ot paint en plein air in downtown Columbia, Tennessee. We stood back to back, she painting west and me painting east. I painted the corner where Puckett's now operates. I researched not only the origins of Puckett’s Grocery (Restaurant) but also the history of the building at 15 Public Square. Regretfully, I could not find much on either, which is very surprising. Maury County has a long track record of historians photographing, painting, and writing about it’s 1500+ antebellum structures, but after a visit to Michelle at the Archives learned that no one has written a history on either subject. The original Puckett’s Grocery is located in Leipers Fork, Tennessee, on the county line between Williamson and Maury counties. It was established as a general store by the Puckett family in the 1950s and carried fresh produce, groceries, and gasoline. The name and concept were purchased by Andy Marshall in 1998 who turned the general store idea into a restaurant and music venue which is the Puckett’s we have today in Nashville, Franklin, Columbia, Murfreesboro, Pigeon Forge and Chattanooga. He didn’t, however, purchase the original Puckett’s. It stayed in the family until this past summer when I believe it sold to Aubrey Preston. Most people from the Dimple of the Universe remember 15 Public Square as the home to Porter-Walker Hardware, established in 1907 and occupying that space until the early 2000s. Today I’ve researched the Sanborn maps through the Library of Congress but have learned very little about this space before Porter-Walker. The only thing I remember is that the space had large nail heads driven down the middle of the store, and it’s been told Porter and Walker had a falling out and divided the business space in half, so each could remain on his side of the store without having to encounter the other. I have no idea if that story has an ounce of truth to it, but I do know if you visit Puckett’s today and belly up to the bar, you’ll see the old floor has been salvaged and the boards with all the nail heads have been upcycled into the bar top itself. |
Available Paintings by Susan Elizabeth Jones
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