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Rothrock's Clothing Store was built as the residence and business house of Strause, Lehman and Company in the 1880s. It was a beautiful edifice, with a canopy over the sidewalk held up by slender wrought iron pillars. A wrought iron railing guarded the second-floor windows, and in the middle of the third floor, a six-window bay jutted out. The bay was also topped with fanciful wrought iron. Some of the façade details can still be seen. An engraving of the façade may be seen in Linn's History of Centre and Clinton Counties, 1883. In 1938, A.T. Sellers, Sr. opened Western Auto at this location; he sold the business to his son A.T. Sellers, Jr. in the late 1960s. In 1973 Mr. Sellers switched from Western Auto to True Value Hardware. True Value moved to its current location on Route 322, west of Philipsburg, in 1978. Rothrock’s has occupied this space since. Rothrock’s also utilized façade grant money in 2008 to preserve the second and third floor architectural features.

strause

The Philipsburg Historical Foundation

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