Israel Tyler, grandson of early pioneer Bezaleel Tyler was the first owner of the Tyler Hill Store. Israel also owned two sawmills, a grist mill, and was engaged in rafting lumber down the Delaware. His sons Lorenzo and Moses continued his business and after Moses died, Lorenzo became the owner of the store. Illustrated Wayne County, published in 1900, has a photograph of L.B. Tyler's Store. looking much the same as it does today. In 1850 a separate store was moved a quarter mile and put on the west side of the building. An ice cream parlor once occupied the east wing. Local citizens for a time voted in the upstairs rooms. A potbelly stove surrounded by spindled chairs was the gathering spot of the area and here stories were told and retold. The store ownership passed from the Tylers to Ernest Olver and then to the Abrahams. There were several owners between 1955 and 1986 when Diane and Arnold Dutton purchased the business. Local photographs and artifacts line the walls of Diane's restaurant, and the marks of the stove pipe are still visible in the store. A spindled chair from the early years is a prized possession. Local and tourists alike gather here to shop, eat, and talk. From the early rafting days to our present computerage the store at Tyler Hill has been a welcoming landmark.

This page was one month of the calendar and was made possible through the Wayne County Commissioners and a Tourism Promotion Committee’s Tourism Grant.