Historical Images of Porter County

Lewry & Son Groceries and Provisions
Furnessville, Indiana

Date: Circa 1895
Source Type: Photograph
Publisher, Printer, Photographer: Lee and Lee's Atlas of Porter County, Indiana, 1895
Postmark: Not applicable
Collection: Steven R. Shook
Remark: William Lewry was a native of Brighton, County Sussex, England, and emigrated to the United States in 1855. He and his wife, Sarah, moved to Furnessville in 1858. William opened his Lewry & Son store in 1878. William's son, Henry, operated the store after his father's death in 1917. The original complex illustrated here includes Lewry's store, wagon shop, and blacksmith shop. All three buildings were destroyed by fire in 1923, and only the store was rebuilt. Henry Lewry served as postmaster of Furnessville from 1883 to 1909, operating the post office from the grocery and provisions store. The newly built store remained in operation until the construction of the Dunes Relief Highway (US Highway 20), where it was in the path of the road construction. The store was removed to Porter where it served as a church and later as a private residence. The structure is believed to still exist. Lewry is the storekeeper referred to in naturalist Edwin Way Teale's autobiography Dune Boy: The Early Years of a Naturalist [1943; Dodd, Mead, & Company].

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Image and related text prepared by Steven R. Shook