Local History (McHenry County and surroundings): Then and Now: Hawley General Store

One of the oldest structures on the town square, the Hawley Building has prominently stood on its west side, housing some of Huntley's most recognizable businesses. The large, brick, “L” shaped building has watched the town grow for well over a century, seeing Huntley go from a small, but prosperous, dairy producer, to being one of fastest advancing villages in McHenry County. The building's humble beginnings go back to the man that constructed it; the namesake of the historic structure.

Around 1863/1864, a young John Hawley came to America from Germany with his widowed mother. After first settling in Michigan, they moved to Crystal Lake. It was not long before Mr. Hawley began to carve out a name for himself. In the 1870s, he began to court a young woman by the name of Mina Weltzien. Mina, the daughter of Charles Weltzien, was part of a well-known and prosperous family in town, with some members in the dairy industry, and her sister marrying David Haeger, owner of Dundee Brick Yard. On January 1, 1878, John Hawley and Mina Weltzien were wed. About a year later, John Hawley would construct his mercantile business on the west end of the square.

Prior to the Hawley Building, a two and a half story wood frame structure sat on the south-west corner of Woodstock and Coral Sts. This structure, originally owned by John Wales and later owned by Willard and Clara Cummings, was picked up and moved to Vine St. Around 1879, John Hawley finished his new building. The large two story brick structure was constructed in an “L” shape, with one storefront facing the square, and the other storefront facing Main St. John Hawley had his store on the first floor, and a barber operated in the basement of the building. The entrance for the barber was originally in the back of the building, but within a decade of being constructed, a new entrance was dug out near the front of the building on the Coral St. side. John Hawley ran his successful general store up until around 1900, when his interest shifted more to farming and being a director of the State Bank of Huntley.

The business remained a general store after John Hawley left, and in the early 1900s, was owned by Smith and Weltzien. Later, closer to 1909, James W. Burns, who married John Hawley's daughter Edith, and Mr. Weltzien were the proprietors of the store, being named the White Front Store. James Burns, an inventive mind, created a type of conversion for a Ford truck to turn the truck into a camper or ambulance for a field hospital. His creation could be seen in the store, and the idea was well ahead of its time. However, the high cost of the conversion kit most likely hindered sales, and the idea was short lived.

During this time, the upstairs remained as active as the business on the first floor. Prior to the construction of Pabst's Hall in 1916, basketball games were held in “Smith and Weltzien's Hall.” Other events held upstairs were dances, get-togethers, and movies. In the 1920s, due to increased enrollment at the schools in Huntley, part of the high school class was taught on the second floor in the room overlooking Main St. This would end in 1924 when the new high school was built. Later, the upstairs became a recreation hall, containing pool tables and a few bowling lanes.

After decades as a general store, the building was sold to Henry F. Heinemann, who moved his hardware business from Main St. to this site. In 1946, Henry's son Earl joined the business, and they continued to prosper at the site until they purchased the old wood structure across Coral St. They razed the structure, then one of the oldest on the square, around 1947 and erected their new, “modern,” hardware store, which still stands today.

Sometime after moving, the building became a grocery store. On April of 1953, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Purdom purchased the business, and ran it as Harry's Grocery. The supermarket on the square would be a staple for decades of residents doing their local shopping. On August 31, 1965, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Purdom sold the business to Donald McCollum. McCollum operated the store as Don's Super Valu. In 1972, Don was looking to sell the business. This caught the attention of Harry Purdom's son, who was also named Harry. The younger Harry was highly interested at getting the grocery store that his father once operated back, and around July of 1972, Harry Purdom purchased not only the business, but the entire building as well. Harry would renovate the building, changing the upstairs to apartments, though keeping one of the bowling lanes intact, and modernizing the grocery store on the first floor. He would continue to run the business as Harry's Super Valu until 1975, when the supplier was switched to IGA. From then through the 1980s, Harry's IGA remained a cornerstone for the businesses on the square.

In 1989, another town square staple opened: Luigi's Pizza. The restaurant was well known for its thin crust pizza, and hosted many Huntley residents as well as out-of-towners for around 26 years. Around the corner, Shampooch and Kitty would move into the potion of the building that faces Main St., where they still remain today. In 2015, Luigi's Pizza was sold to Sal and Sue Bongiovanni, owners of Sal's Pizza in Algonquin. Since the sale, the name was changed to Sal's Pizza, and the building has undergone an extensive renovation to the exterior that has included uncovering the metal work and old transom windows that have been hidden beneath signs for over 50 years. Sal and Sue look forward to establishing themselves as an important part of this town's history and serving fine Italian food for many years to come.