Mansfield General Store (1886)

The general store at 534 Storrs Road in Mansfield was built in 1886 by Charles H. Weeks. Above the store was Elmwood Hall, where town meetings and events were held. John Starkweather briefly owned the store in 1897 before selling it to Alfred Oden, who ran it for thirty years. In 1906, Oden, who lived above the store, fired shots from the balcony at two escaping burglars who had just blown open the store safe. One of them left behind a derby riddled with shotgun holes! In 1928, Oden sold the store to Thomas Arthur Barrows and Gustav Clauson. After the latter died, Barrows bought his share. He was later joined by his sister, Gertrude Burnham, and for many years the store was called Barrows and Burnham. It is now known as the the Mansfield General Store. The Mansfield Center Post Office was located here from 1899 to 1954.