By Beverly Belcher Woody
As I have continued my research into the rich tapestry of families who built Patrick County, I have recently been studying the Atkins family and their remarkable contributions to the Woolwine community. The story of W.G. Atkins and his children is not simply a business history — it is a story of perseverance, faith, family, and service across generations.
When W. G. Atkins opened his little dry goods store in Woolwine in the 1890s, most families in Patrick County were barely surviving on the rugged mountain farms that covered this region. Yet W.G. believed that even a small country store could thrive if it remained clean, honest, respectful of its customers, and served the needs of the community — and he proved it true.
Having lost both parents by age ten, W.G. was raised in Buffalo Ridge by an uncle. Through hard work and perseverance, he purchased a two–story frame building around the turn of the century and began the general store that would become part of Patrick County history. He and his wife, Kizzie Maude Akers Atkins, raised nine children — and nearly all of those children eventually went into the retail business themselves.
In 1908, Atkins built a two-story, framed addition to the site of the present grocery store. The store was retained within the present structure, even though additions on either side enlarged the building to a 66 x 60-foot, two-story store and apartment unit. Atkins’ original mail business was retained for many years for storage. The combination store and living quarters were torn down to accommodate the present 50 x 80-foot, two-story appliance and home furnishings store, which also had a full basement.
As the decades passed, the country store expanded, changed buildings, survived the Great Depression, and weathered the difficult rationing years of World War II. Joe Atkins, W.G.’s youngest son, became a partner in 1928 at only 17 years old, and quite literally grew up inside the store’s wooden walls. The father–son partnership continued until W.G.’s passing in 1947.
Woolwine postmaster Byng Anglin was a second-generation postmaster whose father, Walter, built a post office in the rear of W. G. Atkins & Son general store in 1932. According to Anglin’s post office records, the Woolwine post office originated in Rock Castle and moved to the I. C. Adams store, then on to the intersection near the “blacksmith, wood working plant and school” and became the center of the community.
In a November 2, 1977, Enterprise article, Joe said his father always kept enough stock on hand, even through the worst of the Depression when sales dropped to only about $1,000 a month. W.G. always believed “a small country store would never go broke” if it had cleanliness, a good reputation, and respect for the people it served. Joe continued that philosophy his entire life.
In 1939, the store became a General Electric dealer, later expanding to appliances, mattresses, furniture, and home goods. After the United Elastic Division opened a plant in Woolwine in 1953 — and many local farmers left their farms for mill employment — the store prospered even more, though the personal touch never changed.
Joe Atkins recalled the World War II years even more vividly than his experience as a young businessman in the depression. “I never had a job in merchandising as hard as rationing,” he commented. “We had to require stamps for gas, sugar, and foodstuffs, and we never had enough merchandise to go around,” he added.
By 1977, W.G. Atkins & Son stood strong at the corner of State Routes 8 and 40 with modern red brick buildings — one side grocery and laundromat, the other furniture and appliance showroom — with apartments above and a constant flow of loyal customers below. Generations of Patrick Countians bought their appliances — and their children’s appliances — from the Atkins family. Joe recalled selling appliances to a bride whose mother and grandmother had also bought theirs from him.
Joe continued to run the store into the 1980s, assisted by longtime employees such as Bernard Moran and Mrs. Lucy Philpott who watched the furniture store from her post at the grocery checkout across the street.
And in true country store spirit — Joe still drove to Roanoke each week to pick up parts, farm supplies, or simply “something somebody needed,” even if he made no profit at all. It was simply, in his words, part of good service.
Other Atkins brothers continued the retail tradition as well, with stores in Woolwine and Fieldale. Only one brother chose a different path in real estate. Robert “Bob” Atkins shared the following in a November 15, 1984, interview with the Martinsville Bulletin, “My entire family, well, almost all of them, have always been in the retail business. My father, W.G. Atkins, for many years operated a general store in Woolwine and now, 85 years later, my brother Joe still is operating it. Another brother, Dan, also operates a store in Woolwine and still another brother, Murray, operates one in Fieldale. The only brother not in the retail business is Booker Isaac (B.I.) Atkins, who started out in retail, but later chose real estate.
“After I finished at the old Blue Ridge Mission School at Buffalo Ridge in Patrick County, I went in 1921 to Roanoke, where I attended National Business College. I later went to Draper, N.C., and with my brother, B. I., set up Atkins Brothers Inc., a grocery and dry goods business. I remained with B. I. until 1925 when I sold out to him and went to Roanoke, where I bought an interest in Welmons and Coffer, a men’s clothing store. The Thomas Jefferson Hotel was being built about that time, so I opted to move to Martinsville where I rented a little store, 14 x 34 feet, on the corner by the hotel. I remained there for 21 years before moving to the spot where Hennebry-Lloyd Jewelers now is located (1984).”
The Atkins legacy still lives on in the memory of those who purchased groceries, appliances, furniture, and everyday necessities at W.G. Atkins & Son — and in the way they treated people. This is the kind of story that reminds us again why preserving these histories matters.
Information for this story came from the November 2, 1977, edition of The Enterprise, October 30, 1977, Roanoke Times edition, and the November 15, 1984, Martinsville Bulletin. For questions, comments, or ideas for stories, you may contact Woody at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or 276-692-9626.
