Since the early 1900s, Garnett M. Deck purchased the Reed tin store on North Main Street, and was officially recognized by the Ambler community for many years. There were two stores G.M. Deck owned, and one of them was known to have an interesting history no one in Ambler would know about.
In this post, I'm going to discuss about that building.
The Store on Main and Race Streets
The earliest record found was that John Walton was possibly the first owner of the store on Main and Race streets. John Walton (1842-1916) was born in a log cabin in Horsham Township. He attended the Horsham Friends' School and the Carversville Excelsior Normal Institute in Bucks County.
After taking an examination, John was given a teaching position at the #1 school in Montgomery County, located in Horsham Township, which he held on to for five years. With excessive work as a teacher, he fell ill. As a result, he went into real estate from 1880 to 1903 when he became ill again.
When his father died in 1869, his family moved to Buckingham, but John refused to leave his home in Horsham. He decided to stay and made his home with his aunt, Susannah L. Lukens.
John was considered the most prominent businessman in the area. He even built a store on Main and Race streets where he conducted his business.
It wasn't until 1885 when Edmund Plumly (1861-1891) opened his merchandise and grocery store at the former Walton property. It was said that the first floor of the building was used for his store while the second floor was used as an apartment that can hold up to 400 people.
Edmund Plumly purchased a grist mill on the corner of Butler Pike and Morris Road that was originally owned and built by William Hamer. The mill was owned by different people until it was purchased by Edmund in 1871.
Fun Fact #1: There was a fugitive slave named "Black Bill" who was living in a hut next to Plumly's mill and abolitionists urged him to run away for freedom.
The Armon Couple
Throughout the 20th century, the building was known as the "Armon Building," named after a couple: Ella and Moses Armon. They purchased the former Plumly store in 1912, and the Armon building name was officially recognized by the Ambler community.
During the 1920s, the Armon building welcomed black businessmen as well as black residents and families outside of Ambler to live above the businesses conducted throughout the years.
Prohibition Era and the Black Community
As the black community began a new life at the Armon building, things went downhill after the 66th US Congress passed the law to ban production and manufacturing of alcohol, transitioning into the Prohibition Era.
There are crimes that happened during the Prohibition Era surrounding the Armon building, involving gambling and drunkenness, resulting in chaos and police raids. The number of arrests made were sufficient throughout the 1920s and 1930s. Many of the residents in that area complained about the disruption at the Armon building.
In 1930, John Thomas, the owner of a black barbershop and pool room, was forced to leave Ambler due to witnesses seeing intoxicated men coming out of that building
In 1940, Charles Friedman, proprietor of the taproom in the Armon building, was arrested for maintaining a disorderly house. His license was suspended afterwards.
Booker T. Washington wrote a piece on alcohol resulting in crimes committed by blacks, and surveyed sheriffs and city officials on this issue. This piece was written a decade before the Prohibition Era began, assuming prohibition acts were already placed in the state level in the South. Below was his conclusion:
"Although the data presented above is inconclusive, yet when all the facts are considered, strong drink, I believe, is one of the chief causes of Negro crime in the South. It appears that where prohibition has really prohibited the Negroes from securing liquor their crime rate has been decreased. On the other hand, it appears that where the prohibition law did not prevent the Negroes from securing whiskey there has been no decrease in the crime rate, in fact the introduction of a cheaper grade of liquor has apparently had a tendency to increase the crime rate. In every instance, however, where the prohibition law has been rigidly enforced and the Negroes have been unable to get liquor, there has been a decrease in the crime rate."
- Booker T. Washington, 390
Washington's observations may be a prediction to the future when prohibition laws were placed in the federal level that impacted the black population. In Pennsylvania, Governor Gifford Pinchot made strict prohibition laws and promised to crack down lawbreakers by proper enforcement. Unfortunately in Philadelphia, little had changed to prevent law breakers from consuming alcohol. The lawlessness that happened in Philly may have impacted the Philadelphia suburbs, especially within the black community in Ambler.
A Fire Hazard Building
Bibliography
"Ambler News." Ambler Gazette. April 17, 1930. Page 6. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/14451/rec/19.
Anderson, Annie. "Prohibition." Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. 2015. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/archive/prohibition/.
"Attempted Robbery and Murder." Ambler Gazette. May 29, 1919. Page 1. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/7501/rec/6.
"Borough Council Retians 8 1-2 Mill Tax Rate For Another Year. Condemn Armon Bldg. 10 Eliminate Fire Trap." Ambler Gazette. May 6, 1937. Page 1 & 6. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/21895/rec/222.
"Google Maps Area Calculator Tool." DaftLogic. Accessed December 27, 2021. https://www.daftlogic.com/projects-google-maps-area-calculator-tool.htm.
Hadley, Carrie. "Prohibition’s Legacy in Pennsylvania." Making History: The Heins History Center (blog). June 4, 2018. https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/blog/western-pennsylvania-history/prohibitions-legacy-pennsylvania.
Hough, Mary P. H. "Early history of Ambler 1682-1888." A Celebration of Women Writers. Accessed December 26, 2021. https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/hough/ambler/ambler.html.
"John Walton Is Deceased." Ambler Gazette. September 21, 1916. Page 1. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/8873/rec/1.
"Main Street Taproom Closed As Proprietor Surrenders License." Ambler Gazette. February 8, 1940. Page 1 & 7. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/21471/rec/1.
"Town Topics." Ambler Gazette. February 8, 1912. Page 4. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/9018/rec/9.
"Town Topics." Ambler Gazette. May 29, 1913. Page 5. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/8683/rec/1.
"Town Topics." Ambler Gazette. June 5, 1913. Page 6. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/9522/rec/1.
"Town Topics." Ambler Gazette. June 10, 1920. Page 5. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/8882/rec/31.
"Town Topics." Ambler Gazette. July 29, 1920. Page 5. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/9802/rec/1.
Washington, Booker T. "Negro Crime and Strong Drink." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 3, no. 3 (1912): 384-392. https://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/jclc/vol3/iss3/6/.
"Wissahickon Valley Public Library's Ambler Gazette Collection." POWER Library: Pennsylvania's Electronic Library. Accessed December 26, 2021. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/wivp-gazett.
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