This photo of Colrain center shows (from left to right) King and Thompson store, most recently known as the Blue Block or the Brick Store, built in 1812 and razed in 2018; the Tin Shop; and the “Truck Stop.” Through a succession of owners for over 100 years, the general store offered everything from penny candy to flour by the barrel to butchered meat and household staples. The building known as the Tin Shop began as just that before the Civil War, selling tin household goods, maple syrup tins, and stoves; it became Carpenter’s plumbing store and finally an apartment house before being condemned in 1993. Also condemned, the so-called “truck stop” acquired its nickname after being struck by a runaway truck. All gone.
This was written by Belden Merims for the Colrain Clarion March 2026 issue.
