Locally owned hardware stores are a staple of small town life, and ones that can withstand the test of time for over 100 years are truly something special. Edwards True Value Hardware in downtown Courtland happens to be both, and as such, is quite deserving of its recent honor as 2018’s Franklin-Southampton Area Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year.

According to one of the hardware store’s brochures, Edwards was established in downtown Courtland on Sept. 1, 1911 ,and is currently owned by Bob Edwards and his wife, Lisa. Bob essentially grew up in the store, and after college returned to work in the family business with his father, Hank. Hank had joined the business in 1946, working alongside his father, Herbert, and Uncle Will. When the store first opened, it was located next to the current Courtland Town Office. When Bob’s daughter, Madison Edwards Berryman started working at the hardware store in 2015, she became the fourth generation to do so.

Small businesses like Edwards are essential for keeping small towns like Courtland what they are, and so we encourage all who value the lifestyle offered by such communities to continue to rely on and support Edwards other local businesses in the Western Tidewater region.