Sheridan Bros Hardware Store

On 20 Aug 1884, a devastating fire destroyed Roseburg’s Metropolitan Hotel and many other surrounding downtown businesses. One of those was the Sheridan Brothers Hardware Store, built originally in 1872. The owners quickly rebuilt, but wisely this time with brick. The red brick building, on the corner of SE Jackson and SE Oak, in downtown Roseburg was one of the earliest brick structures, built in Roseburg (1884-1885). Contrary to some historical claims, it wasn’t the first downtown structure built with brick. A Roseburg Fire Department report, on the Metropolitan Hotel Fire, references other brick structures nearby. The new brick hardware store was constructed by R.S and J.S. Sheridan, who were the original proprietors of the Hardware Store. The Sheridan brothers were the sons of Thomas Patrick Sheridan, a pioneer businessman in Roseburg. By 1893, the Sheridan brothers had sold their business to Churchill (Frank), Wooley, and McKenzie. In 1898, McKenzie sold his share of the business to the other two partners. In 1910 Frank Churchill sold his share of the hardware store to Thomas L. Wharton and Glen G. Goodman. For a time, the hardware store was the second largest hardware store between Portland and San Francisco, and occupied one of the busiest intersections of Roseburg. A 1932 newspaper story noted that the location had been a hardware store for over 60 consecutive years. In 1987, the front façade of the structure was restored with red brick to approximate its original configuration. The long south wall of the building is in its original condition; two long narrow steel doors cover apertures near the southeast corner. The building was later divided to accommodate four small businesses. In the early 1980s, my mother operated a small plaster figurine shop in the basement floor of this building. Maybe you remember some of the businesses that have operated within these brick walls? #douglascountyoregon