Businesses Past...
by Richard D. L. Fulton
Manahan’s General Store
Charles F. Manahan, Sabillasville, operated the Sabillasville-located Charles F. Manahan & Son General Store, which dealt in general merchandise, feed, and coal.
The store is now a residence, located at 17036 Sabillasville Road. The side of the building is situated parallel to the road and fronts the parking area which takes its access off the road.
The general store was established by the Manahan family in 1842, and operated continuously for some 50 years or so, originally known as Manahan’s General Store (or just Manahan’s), according to former Sabillasville resident, Chris Wolfe. The general store’s name was changed to Charles F. Manahan & Son General Store when Charles F. Manahan assumed management of the business in 1927.
Regarding the operation of the Charles F. Manahan & Son General Store, Charles Manahan died in 1930, a mere few years after having assumed management of the family’s store, thereby resulting in his son, Francis Marion Manahan, then taking over the operation of the store, according to articles published in The (Frederick) News, on February 9 and February 10, 1971. At the time the articles were published, Francis Manahan was still managing the general store.
An article published in the January 3, 1930, edition of The News also stated that Charles Manahan had served as the president of the Thurmont Milling Company.
For some 44 years or so, the local post office was also housed within the general store. Charles Manahan served as the postmaster for six years (apparently assuming that role before even taking over as manager of the store), with Francis Manahan serving as the postmaster, following his father’s death, for 37 years, according to the timeframe of a 1971 article published in The News.
Francis Marion Manahan’s son, Donald M. Manahan, owned and operated a plumbing, heating, and fuel oil business out of the general store (or on the property), which was registered under the name of Charles F. Manahan & Son LLC.
The News additionally noted that the Manahans had also owned a gas station (the pumps were located outside, in front of the store, according to Wolfe).
The News reported in its April 14, 1975, edition that the Manahan business had run afoul of the law when the Frederick County Water Resources Administration’s (WRA) enforcement division had issued an order to Charles F. Manahan & Son Inc.’s management to “clean up gasoline which had spilled into a tributary of Friends Creek from a ruptured tank truck.”
According to WRA, the “water quality” incident had occurred on February 25, 1975. Manahan was further instructed to “maintain a straw fence, and to clean up the gasoline from the waters.”
Memories
Former resident, Elizabeth Stiteley told The Catoctin Banner, “Manahan’s was a lot like (Ike Godsey’s General Merchandise) on The Waltons when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies. They had ice cream, candy, dry goods, and an old refrigerator as the milk section. Candy was two for a cent, and ten cents for a cone.”
Regarding the post office, Stiteley said, “We still didn’t have (residential) mail delivery. I used to ride my horse up to get the mail and tie her to the flagpole.”
Former resident Cathy Fox Wiles said, “I heard my dad and my uncles tell stories of shoveling coal from the coal cars brought in by the railroad when they were boys in the 1930s to earn money.” Resident George Wilhide added, “They (Manahan’s) had coal bins right next to the railroad tracks for the trains to dump coal in.”
Wolfe (previously cited above) recalled, “Mr. Manahan was a fixture in the community. He had penny candy, post office, and oil for your home furnace… (all) the essentials. One summer, I needed some extra cash. Mister Manahan, who lived next door to the store, hired me to plant flower bulbs at the base of his vegetable garden.”
Resident Susan Hatter stated, “My father worked at Manahan’s, either shortly before or after World War II. Sometimes, I still answer my phone as Dad did in those days… ‘Manahan’s, Coal, Feed, and Fertilizer!’ My family gets my humor.”
Residential home that once housed the Manahan General Store
