The granite front and broad porch give Hester Store a distinctive presence at the meeting of Hester Store Road and Thomas Mill Road in Dacusville. Its shape is familiar: a steep roof above two stories, a sheltered entrance, and a store standing close to the crossroads it served. Looking at it, you can begin to understand how a rural business became a landmark.

The building has had more than one revival. Its survival involved a farming family, changing uses, decades of vacancy, preservation work, and new owners willing to find a purpose for it. The current Hester Store & Co. carries that story into another working chapter, with a menu and a place to spend time together.

Hester Store at a glance

Detail	What to know
Location	1735 Hester Store Road, Easley, SC 29640; in the Dacusville community
Historic building	Built in 1893; granite front and porch added in 1933
Historic recognition	Listed on the National Register of Historic Places February 5, 2013
Current business	Hester Store & Co.: coffee, breakfast, lunch, ice cream and local goods
Contact	864-307-8226 | Official hours and contact page
Hours caution	The website still labels its posted schedule “Summer Hours”; confirm your selected day
Checked	October 13, 2026

The Easley mailing address and Dacusville community name refer to the same location. Use the street address when planning your route, and check with the business about parking, entry, and any access needs. Historic recognition does not turn the shop, its upstairs room, or adjoining properties into unrestricted public touring space.

There was a Hester business before this building

The Hester family’s local roots extend into the early nineteenth century. The state historic-property summary places their settlement in Dacusville in 1813. A family account reproduced in Dacusville News gives an approximate arrival of 1814 and describes a later move toward the Oolenoy River after a crop failure. These accounts place the family in the area well before the surviving store was built.

Michael Washington Hester, born in 1854, began farming and trading. The National Register research records an earlier shop by 1876. The distinction matters: his mercantile activity began separately from the construction of the building at today’s crossroads. The present store dates to 1893.

A country crossroads made sense as a place to serve the surrounding farms. Hester’s holdings included a farm and processing businesses such as a cotton gin, sawmill, and grist mill. People could bring agricultural business to the property and buy supplies, connecting the store to the work that supported its customers.

The country store and the farm economy

The state’s account of Hester Store emphasizes the connection between farmers and the larger agricultural economy. Rural stores supplied goods and credit, making them important to households whose income depended on a harvest. A purchase could be part of a season’s finances rather than an isolated cash transaction.

That role gives the store’s history more weight than a nostalgic collection of old merchandise. Credit helped people obtain necessities, but it also made the merchant a powerful figure in rural economic life. Reading the store alongside its farm, gin, and mills helps explain why such a business could become a community center: customers returned for several kinds of work and decisions, often involving the same people.

A grist mill and cotton gin served different purposes, and neither was simply an ornament beside the shop. They connected crops with processing and trade. Our Hagood Mill guide offers another way to explore the region’s working history through a separate site where milling remains central.

What the building can tell you

The 1893 store was a two-story wood-frame commercial building. The granite front and porch came later, in 1933. Recognizing those two stages changes how you read the exterior: the stone face belongs to the store’s history, while the weatherboard sides preserve the appearance of a frame building beneath that later treatment.

The historic nomination describes large rooms on both floors, wood shelving and a stairway linking the levels. It also records an upstairs doorway that once opened to an upper porch but was enclosed by the granite front. That detail shows how an alteration can leave evidence inside a building even after its public face changes. The upstairs is part of the business’s space; ask about permitted access rather than treating architectural interest as an invitation to explore on your own.

The photographs accompanying this guide show the exterior, interior, and outdoor seating. They help you notice materials and layout before a visit, while the dated records explain how the building developed. A surviving landmark can hold evidence from several periods at once; its value lies partly in those layers.

Anne, Mae and Frank: the store as a family enterprise

After Michael Hester’s death in 1920, his son Frank inherited the farm and store. The historical account describes Anne Hester managing the mercantile business and her sister Mae operating the upstairs dress shop. Their work deserves a place in the story alongside the name on the building: maintaining stock, serving customers, and expanding the shop’s offerings were essential to keeping it useful.

Frank’s interests leaned toward machinery and farming. A recollection in the 2014 Dacusville history describes a boiler system that generated electricity for farm tools before utility service was available. The account does not establish that it powered the house. It reminds us that rural enterprise could involve practical experimentation; our feature on life before electricity in Pumpkintown explores the wider foothills setting.

Local history also remembers the upstairs barber shop and the store’s role as a stop for Wellborn Bus Lines between Pickens and Greenville. Those uses brought different reasons to the same address. A customer might arrive for merchandise, a haircut, a journey, or a conversation, giving the building a role beyond the transaction at the counter.

After Anne died in 1966, Frank continued opening on a reduced basis. The community account remembers his enjoyment of conversation and the joking explanation that a late mail carrier was probably still talking at Hester Store. That small memory shows how the store belonged to the rhythm of a neighborhood, with conversation continuing as its commercial activity diminished.

Vacancy, repair and the work of keeping a landmark

The old mercantile era ended when Frank died in 1981, and the store closed. The farm and store were sold at auction the following year. Vacancy then became a substantial part of the building’s story. Keeping a structure standing and finding a sustainable use for it are different challenges; Hester Store eventually needed both.

Contemporary reporting from June 2012 documents Falcone Crawl Space & Structural Repair’s December 2011 purchase from the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation. The company planned an Upstate office while preserving the old store and exploring a downstairs retail use. The report describes completed structural repairs and further work on siding, the facade, and landscaping. That is a concrete rescue chapter, not merely a new coat of paint.

The same report describes protective covenants placed through the preservation process. Their significance here is the effort to carry historic fabric into a new use; the covenant process helped preserve the building while finding it a working use. A June 2013 report records the plaque celebration and the work underway. The National Register listing itself dates to February 5, 2013.

Later owners introduced another use. November 2021 reporting records Katie Chaney’s purchase and plans for a bakery, coffee shop, and general store. The business that followed closed on December 24, 2023, according to contemporary closure reporting. The building’s survival did not depend on one reopening lasting forever; it required further decisions about what it could become.

A timeline of Hester Store

Year	Chapter
1876	An earlier Hester shop is documented before construction at the present site
1893	Michael Washington Hester builds the surviving store
1933	Granite front and porch are added
1981-1982	Frank dies, the store closes, and the property is subsequently auctioned
December 2011	Falcone purchases the store from the Palmetto Trust
February 5, 2013	The property is listed on the National Register
2021	Katie Chaney purchases the property and announces new business plans
December 24, 2023	The modern bakery-era business closes
2025	New owners announce another revival
October 2026 check	Hester Store & Co. publishes a current menu, family account and visitor information

Hester Store & Co.: a working chapter today

The business’s own family page identifies siblings Tasha Carpenter and Cody Rathbone as co-owners, both Coast Guard veterans with local roots. It describes the project as a family effort to make the building a gathering place again. A June 2025 business report documented the new ownership while renovations and opening plans were still developing; the current website is the better source for today’s offerings.

The shop’s website describes coffee, hand-scooped ice cream, breakfast, a porch with rocking chairs, and outdoor games. Its local goods give browsing a place alongside eating and drinking. Check the current menu and specials before you visit; the selection can change.

The menu also advertises an upstairs birthday-party room. Contact the store about current arrangements, capacity, and access if you want to reserve it. For a typical visit, ask about the route from parking to the counter or seating if anyone in your group has mobility needs; confirm the entrance, seating, and any stairs your visit would involve.

The ghost stories: what the sources actually establish

A September 21, 2014 Dacusville News post records two rumors: an unidentified Black man said to have been hanged near an oak behind the store, and an older woman said to appear rocking in an upstairs window. They are recorded as stories, without a named victim, event date, or contemporary record establishing a hanging at Hester Store.

The post credits Down Home: Dacusville Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, a 1995 school publication, for the historical material preceding the rumors. Its layout does not establish that the ghost stories themselves came from that book. Their appearance in the 2014 post provides a dated written retelling; their origins remain unverified.

The woman is also unidentified, and the sources checked do not establish that she was Anne Hester or another family member. A story involving alleged racial violence needs careful handling. This guide does not present the hanging as a documented event or attach a known lynching victim to an unverified location.

You can be interested in the folklore while visiting the shop for its actual history and current business. Keep any visit within permitted areas and operating arrangements. For another example of how foothills legends attach to familiar places, our Pumpkintown folklore feature keeps local stories separate from established events.

Make it part of a Dacusville and foothills outing

Hester Store works as a stop within a wider visit, with the shop’s opening hours setting the first practical limit. Our Dacusville Pizza Stop guide offers another local food option, while the Dacusville Farm Show feature introduces a separate agricultural tradition. Check the event’s actual dates; it isn’t a year-round attraction that runs whenever the store is open.

If you continue toward Pickens or the mountains, use the Pumpkintown visitor guide to choose the next part of your day. Give each stop time to be interesting rather than treating the area as a list to complete. A store with this much history rewards you for noticing the building, not just ordering something at the counter.

Questions about visiting Hester Store

Where is Hester Store?

The business lists 1735 Hester Store Road, Easley, SC 29640. The historic building is in the Dacusville community at Hester Store Road and Thomas Mill Road. Use the full address when checking your route.

Was the store built in 1893 or 1895?

The National Register documentation dates the surviving building to 1893, with the stone front and porch added in 1933. The business website uses 1895 in one description; this guide follows the historical documentation for the construction date.

What can you get at Hester Store & Co. today?

The current menu lists breakfast, baked goods, coffee, lunch items and ice cream. Choices and availability can change, so consult the official menu and confirm serving times rather than assuming every item is offered throughout the day.

What are the current hours?

The website’s posted schedule still carries a Summer Hours label as of the October 13, 2026 check. It lists Monday closure. Call 864-307-8226 or check the official contact page for your chosen date, particularly before an autumn or holiday trip.

Can you tour the upstairs?

An upstairs room is advertised for birthday-party reservations. Public touring access was not verified. Ask the business about permission, arrangements and accessibility; historic recognition does not establish unrestricted entry.

Is Hester Store haunted?

The dated community post records ghost rumors, but the sources checked do not verify the alleged hanging, identify the woman or establish when the stories began. Read them as local folklore rather than documented events.

Sources for the store’s story

For the historical record, begin with the South Carolina historic-property summary and complete National Register nomination. The Dacusville community account preserves recollections and records the later ghost-story retelling. Contemporary reports linked above cover the 2011-2013 restoration, 2021 purchase, 2023 closure, and 2025 ownership announcement. For a visit, use the business’s contact page and menu.

Hester Store’s lasting value can be found in this sequence of work and reuse. The building still gives Dacusville a place where an old commercial crossroads meets an everyday visit. Preserving it has meant finding another chapter that people can actually use.