Clyde’s Corner

Howlett Hardware: A longtime Gregory landmark had its start in Unadilla

by Clyde Whitaker

Sometimes it’s fun to refresh our memories about the history of some of our area landmarks, and this month, the Gregory business—Howlett Hardware—comes to mind.

The story begins with Robert Howlett and his wife, Elizabeth, arriving from England in 1849 and purchasing a farm in Michigan in 1851.

Robert and Elizabeth had seven children: William, Thomas, Robert, John, Fredrick, Emmeline and Caroline. The sons were born in England and the daughters in America.

My friend Susan Daily was nice enough to provide me with some information. Susan is the daughter of Dan Howlett, one of the later Howletts to own the store.

This year, 2025, marks 131 years that the original Howlett Hardware building has resided in its current location in Gregory.

The hardware store opened in 1894 in Gregory, Michigan, but the building got its start in Unadilla. A 24-by-46-foot, two-story section of the building was moved to Gregory from Unadilla, where it had been a general store for about 10 years, right around 1884.

Imagine moving the general store from Unadilla to Gregory; it had to have been a daunting task. The roads at that time were narrow, and much of the move was across fields, which involved removing fences as needed. Dan Howlett recalled an older gentleman describing the moving project in detail. It was said that the boss who engineered the moving job was a Civil War veteran with a wooden leg.

After the move, brothers Fred and Henry Howlett opened the hardware store in Gregory in the spring of 1894. Right around 1895 or 1896, after the building had become Howlett Hardware, a 14-foot, two-story frame addition was built on its north side.

The Fred and Henry operated the store until 1908 when they dissolved their partnership, with Henry becoming sole owner of the hardware business, while brother Fred became a banker.

Fred Howlett once told a humorous story about a salesman who came into the store selling unbreakable lamp chimneys. The salesman proceeded to toss a chimney up into the air, and when it hit the wooden floor, instead of shattering it bounced! Fred proceeded to pick up the chimney and, after examination, he found no cracks in it. Impressed by this demonstration, Fred ordered some chimneys for the store. When his shipment arrived and he was unpacking the lamp chimneys for display, a “Mrs. Rose” entered the store. Fred said to her “Let me show you a miracle.” He then proceeded to toss an “unbreakable chimney” up into the air, and when it hit the floor at her feet, it shattered into a thousand pieces!

Apparently, the shipper had sent common lamp chimneys. Numerous merchants in other towns had been conned as well, but the con man was never found.

After taking over the store in the 1940s, brothers Tom and Dan Howlett owned and operated the Howlett Hardware for almost 40 years together, and they never argued. They sold their store late in the 1970s to Stan Daily, Don Hackney, and Jack Potts, (Tom’s son-in-law). Jack, who married Tom’s daughter, Ann Howlett, left a teaching career to operate the store. In 1981, Jack became the sole owner, and in 2006, Jack sold the store to Mike Bramlett, who ran the hardware for years before selling to the store’s current owners, Jim and Diane Byrum.

Today, the name on the building is Gregory Hardware, but it is still recognizable to those who knew it as Howlett Hardware over the last century. Hopefully it will continue to serve the community faithfully for many more years to come.

Vintage photos provided by Susan Daily.

In 1932, during the worst of the Depression, Dan Howlett (right) modernized the hardware store.

Howlett Hardware in Gregory at the turn of the 20th century. Charlie Bullis, Fred Howlett, young Dan Denton and Nelt Bullis gather in front of the store. The person on the far right is unidentified.

The bench for talking age on a bright piece of linoleum was just inside the entrance to the hardware store. Photo circa 1915.

Now called “Gregory Hardware,” the store is an anchor destination in Gregory, Michigan, and still is easily identifiable to those who knew it in its heyday. Photo credit Clyde Whitaker

Clyde Whitaker is a 1973 Stockbridge graduate. He and his wife, Mary, raised four children in Stockbridge, and they still reside in the Stockbridge area.