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Cottageville store plays host to History Channel’s ‘American Pickers’

By Candice Black 4 min read

COTTAGEVILLE -- Cottageville will have a national audience with a segment about a local general store on "American Pickers" this weekend.

The former Hunt's General Store will be featured at 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8.

Lawrence Otho Hunt opened a general store in the 1930s and his grandsons Brad and Bruce Hunt welcomed Mike and Robbie Wolfe of "American Pickers" to give them an opportunity to find antique treasures.

"American Pickers" debuted in 2010 and is centered around Mark and, at the time, Frank Fritz, who travel to junkyards and antique stores all over the country to find valuables and collectibles to buy and resale.

The Hunt brothers were always fans of the show and Brad said he and their mother Dorothy would watch it together over the years. Dorothy passed away last January and after Bruce and Brad acquired the old business, Brad decided to reach out to the show.

"We have a lot of old stuff that I've seen them buy and I thought they'd like to look through (it). We watched the show a lot (and) it kind of felt like (we) knew them before they got there. They were very personable. They were there to work; they were cordial," Brad Hunt said.

Cottageville was one of two stops in West Virginia, and Brad said the episode will delve into his family's history and grandfather's legacy.

"A lot of them are excited about telling the backstory; that's a lot of the show on top of them buying and reselling stuff," Brad Hunt said.

Lawrence "L.O.'s" store was a catch-all place that sold milk, groceries, hardware, guns, appliances and clothing. It was also a butcher shop.

"Those were common back then. There were not Walmarts, and every little community had its own little store that had everything," Brad Hunt said.

L.O. ran the store until his passing in the '90s, except when he was serving in World War II, during which time his brothers worked in his place. L.O. was a postmaster in the Navy and Cottageville, and his store was also the local post office at the time.

"He was the judge, jury and executioner; he kind of ran the town. He was a community servant," Brad Hunt said.

Going forward, Brad says he and Bruce want to use the space as a man cave where they can store tools, work on projects and spend time together.

"We're going to use a lot of the old stuff for decoration," he said.

Mark Whitley, director of Jackson County Economic Development, said he's looking forward to watching the episode since he's a huge fan of the show.

"I never try to miss an episode and when they come into a community, it opens up our eyes to different parts of the country that we normally wouldn't have the opportunity to see," Whitley said. "Any kind of exposure we can get from this is going to be very beneficial."

Whitley said Jackson County has a rich history and he's grateful for the Hunt brothers' work to be featured on the show.

"Jackson County residents have so many interesting treasures, I think they could spend quite a few days here and not even scratch the surface for the things that would be of interest to the national population," he said.

When "American Pickers" features a piece of Jackson County history, Brad Hunt hopes people across the nation will learn something about the community's culture.

"I wish my mother was still alive to be able to see it and participate. It was a fun experience and we hope everybody enjoys getting a little history lesson of the little town of Cottageville and our grandfather," he said.

The show airs 9 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 8, on the History Channel.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.

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