The building at 260 Jefferson has an unusual address and an interesting history. It sits on the corner of the thoroughfares now called Jefferson Avenue and Jefferson Street. How this curiosity came about remains a mystery, but sometime between 1930 and 1935, only the section of Jefferson Street between Main Street and Loyal Street became known as Jefferson Avenue.
According to the 1877 Beers Map of Danville, the area we know as Five Forks was undeveloped but began to grow soon after. This building was clearly present and occupied by 1890. It is most strongly associated with John Lyle Hagan, born in Christiansburg, Virginia in 1860.
On arriving in Danville in 1881, Hagan first associated with Pleasant R. Jones who operated a drug store downtown. Interestingly, Mr. Jones’ house stood on the corner opposite 260 Jefferson facing Loyal Street. Sometime after 1923, this house was moved to 815 Pine Street where it stands today.
After leaving Mr. Jones, Hagan operated his own store at 260 Jefferson together with J. T. Watson, Jr., by 1890. Often referred to as Hagan’s Drug Store, it was also known as Central Pharmacy.
Business must have prospered as by 1915 the building was expanded to enclose a previous loading area and second story porch. That loading area / porch can be seen in the photo below. Careful observers will note that the second-story window in the new addition does not match the original building, and that the entrance was moved from the corner of the store to face Jefferson Avenue.
Hagan resided on the second floor at 260 for many years. He also rented a room to Danville’s Reform congregation until their synagogue, Temple Beth Sholom, was completed in 1900 at 129 Sutherlin Avenue.
In late 1924, The Bee announced that John Hagan was in failing health and his nephew, Hagan Eastland, had come from Kansas to Danville to manage the store. It does not appear Eastland stayed very long, as by early 1926 J. R. Pattisall was the store’s manager.
As required by law during prohibition, the Central Pharmacy apply “for license to sell pure fruit, grain or ethyl alcohol for scientific purposes, and other ardent spirits on physicians’ prescription” at least for 1926 through 1928. In 1927, the store installed “modern new fixtures.”
By early 1935, 260 Jefferson was occupied by the Kroger Grocery and Baking Company. Kroger was unique at the time for selling meat and bread in addition to groceries in its stores, though a clerk still retrieved the customers requested items from the shelves. By 1941, its five Danville grocery stores were converted to Kroger Super Food Stores – perhaps the first of Danville’s supermarkets. They boasted that “self-serve makes shopping easier and quicker.” 260 Jefferson continued as a supermarket under various names until 1955.
Meanwhile, in the mid-1930s, nearby properties at 254 and then 256 Jefferson came to be used as a wholesale bakery. First was Community Bakers, Inc., followed by Old Home Bakery in 1936. In 1938, Aunt Betty Bakers, Inc., acquired the property and baked and distributed Holsum brand bread. The bakery complex eventually consumed much of Five Forks, removing homes on Pine Street, and incorporating 260 Jefferson as well.
After a decline of many years, the city acquired the bakery complex in 2012 and demolished those buildings that could not be saved. For 260 Jefferson, however, beginning in 2016, the Permastone cladding was removed exposing the historic brick exterior. Repairs were made to parapet walls, and a new roof structure with insulation board and rubber covering was installed. The building is now ready for its next incarnation.
