This collection of items, lent to us by a local patron, revolves around the former local store Bartlett’s Bargain House, run by Fenton Bartlett and his family. The Bartlett Bargain House opened next door to the Fort Branch Post Office on February 13, 1947 (their daughter Sandra’s birthday). Offering various goods at great prices, this store combined second-hand items with local goods, produce, and unique items. Their motto was “We Don’t Have Everything, But Almost Anything”. Toward the fall of 1947, Fenton moved the store’s location to a building near Hillcrest Inn, around US-41 and John Street; still in Fort Branch. The store remained in business until sometime around 1952-1953.
[Clipping from the Princeton Daily Clarion from Friday, August 10, 1951, page 3.]
The proprietor, Percy Fenton Bartlett, was born on May 3, 1902 in Clark County, IL to Avery “Ray” and Ella Alice (Ogle) Bartlett. On August 10, 1929, he married Galeda (Riggs) in Vigo County, IN. Together, they had three children: Warren “Pat”, Sandra, and Gary. Around 1938, the family moved to Gibson County, IN, officially residing in Fort Branch by 1940. While they lived in Gibson County, they owned and operated the Bartlett’s Bargain House store. Around 1954, they moved to Terre Haute, IN. On July 19, 1981, at age 79, Fenton Bartlett passed away and was buried at Little Flock Cemetery in Shelburn, IN.
[Photo of Fenton Bartlett from an Ancestry.com family tree.]
[Photo of the storefront of Bartlett’s Bargain House, scanned from the original photo owned by a relative of the Bartlett family.]
[Clipping of advertisement from the Princeton Daily Clarion from the Saturday, May 20, 1950 issue, page 5.]