The La Grange General Store, 20 Main Street, dates back to the early 1890s and was well-known as a La Grange landmark along Hwy 57 and Main Street as Pankey’s Store.

The original owner was a Mr. Chappell Lester Pankey, or “Mr. Chap”, as he was called. In his obituary from The Commercial Appeal’s article, of July, 1951, it stated “he was the oldest distributor of the paper, having begun serving the territory in 1889 at the age of 18 when the paper was called “The Appeal”. Mr. Chap was active in civic and community enterprises, had participated in amateur plays church and school festivals as “the wit” and operated the landmark business for more than 60 years. Mr. Pankey served two terms as mayor of the town, was an Episcopalian, a Mason and member of Woodmen of the World. Mr. Pankey lived to be 80 years old, born in 1872 and died in 1951 in the same house he was born in.” He sold the store to his brother, Cornell, and ownership remained in the family for several generations with the last family owners being Mr. & Mrs. Lebert Baker of “Chantilly.”

Although the store is no longer open on a regular schedule, it still provides a flashback of rural country-store life when cotton was king and the large, surrounding plantations depended on La Grange merchants to feed and supply the thriving community. It is filled with the memories of the early 1890s through 1950s, and visitors are invited to come spend time with us around the store and hoop cheese wheel most Saturday mornings.