About

 The Isaac C. Thomas Historical Museum Preservation

 This Isaac C. Thomas Historical Museum is currently located in the original Isaac C. Thomas Mercantile Store of 1885.  The store was located on the corner of Palmer Street and Church Street in Downtown Ridgeway where the Thomas Company Store currently resides along with Laura's Tea Room.  The mercantile store was operated by Isaac C. Thomas, Uncle to Robert W. Thomas of Ridgeway.  The store sold anything from dry goods, hardware, farm tools, lanterns, to other household items including clothing.  Not only did it serve as a mercantile store but it also provided a gathering place for town and  country people alike to sit around a pot belly stove and share stories  and the latest news.  

The story is told that the mercantile store was moved on logs by mules to  its current location facing Church Street to make room for the new Thomas Company Store built in the early 1900's at the original site on the corner of Palmer and Church Streets.  

Therefore, the photo at the top is the old mercantile store, currently the Isaac C Thomas Historical Museum, and the photo at the bottom is of the "new" store they built on the original site, the current Thomas Company and Laura's Tea Room.  

 The restoration of the Isaac C. Thomas Historical Museum was made possible by a gift from The Thomas Family, The Town of Ridgeway and a Fairfield County Hospitality Grant.  

The greater Ridgeway Community donated and loaned artifacts, furnishings and memorabilia for the museum displays.  Additional items are always welcome.

The Isaac C. Thomas Historical Committee and other volunteers created and documented the museum exhibits.  Ridgeway's Historian, Jongy Ward, was instrumental in validating and chronicling items for the museum.

Guests, residents and children who visit our town will now have a museum to explore Ridgeway's Story of Community, Commerce and Culture. Come see us.