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Description
Note: First picture taken after restoration, second picture taken before restoration.
Roberts Store was built circa 1922 after a devastating fire consumed much of Woody Point’s waterfront. The store was built for John William Roberts and was used as a storage house for herring nets, boats and supplies. The wharf and premises were later used for fishing boats operated for several years by his sons.
This two storey building was home to several business interests. In 1951 John Roberts set up a small grocery store in the building and he operated the business until his death in 1953. A year later his son operated a convenience store from there for a year, and in 1955 another Roberts son, William L. (Uncle Bill), began operating a convenience store, snack bar and teenage hangout from the site. It is Uncle Bill’s legacy that lives on in the town as it was very popular spot. While Uncle Bill operated the store on the first floor, John Roberts Jr. continued to use the upstairs loft and attached wharf for his fishing premises. The long history of the building and its many and varied uses have established it as a cultural icon in Woody Point.
The Fisheries Preservation Program gave yet another life to this special building. The many years of use, along with the building’s siting between the water and the main road resulted in serious deterioration of the structure. When the Roberts family applied for funding through the program the building needed the foundation replaced, the roof reshingled, clapboard replaced, windows replaced and general stabilization of the structure. This was completed in 2002.
