Alec Bolin's Star Market

Floyd Alexander ‘Alec’ Bolin (1844-1925), married Mary A. Hunt (1854-1880) in 1878.  Bolin owned the Alec Bolin Star Market on Vermillion Street in Athens, and also a house located at 208 Vermillion Street.

Alec Bolin fought in the civil war on the Confederate side. He was a private in the 17 Va. Cav, Company H.  He was wounded and became a Prisoner of War on July 10, 1864, and was hospitalized in the United States Hospital in Frederick, Maryland.  He was transferred on November 10, 1864.

In the 1870 census, at age 27, he was listed as a farm laborer at Concord Church. In the 1900 census, a widower, age 55, Alec was listed as a merchant selling general merchandise.  

Alec Bolin’s Star Market probably carried a regular line of meats, cheeses and groceries. In addition it was a Dry Goods Store. In the United States, a dry goods store specialized in textiles and clothing production. This was the place you would shop to find the fabric needed for home sewing. Women produced the undergarments, linens, toweling, and most clothing the household needed.

The Alec Bolin Star Market probably closed around 1906. J M Cook later opened his store in the same building. The building, along with several others, was burned in the fire of 1912 that started in the Odd Fellows Hall. You may read about the fire here.

Alec Bolin in later years lived with his daughter Eva Bolin Ball on North Walker Street in Princeton, West Virginia.  Alec Bolin died in 1925 at the age of 71. He was buried in the Oakvale Cemetery.