2317 Gervais Street
Former Site of Waverly 5¢ & 10¢ Store
George A. Elmore, entrepreneur-turned political activist, is remembered as a photographer and cab driver who operated several neighborhood establishments including a 5¢ & 10¢ store that once stood here, a gas station and two liquor stores. Elmore’s ventures faltered in 1947, following his successful lawsuit for the right to vote in the state’s Democratic Primary, closed then to blacks. He died twelve years later after facing threats and experiencing financial ruin at the hands of suppliers who refused to extend credit and restock supplies in retribution for his activism.
-
George Elmore poses outside the Waverly 5¢ and 10¢ Store, circa 1945. Image courtesy Cresswell Elmore
-
Site of Waverly Five and Dime Store, 2018. Historic Columbia collection
