The Ludlow Mercantile store on Main Street in Ludlow dates from the about 1907. it was originally built by John Denair, who was in the process of moving his businesses from Bagdad to Ludlow and it was Mr. Denair who built the 2-story reinforced concrete building on the corner of Main and Cone streets in Ludlow in 1908 and opened the business as the Ludlow Mercantile Company.
John Denair was originally a conductor and later a superintendent for the Santa Fe Railroad and was a prominent businessman in the area. He held large parcels of land and a mercantile store at Bagdad, California and in Stanislaus County. In Bagdad he owned the Denair Mill site, he had offices for managing the Orange Blossom Mine where he was part owner, and he owned the building that housed the Bagdad Post office.
Apparently Mr. Denair's Mercantile store in Ludlow was financed wholly or in part by a local business woman in Ludlow, "Ma" Preston.
Matilda (Vigneron) “Ma” Preston had arrived in Ludlow with her husband Tom about 1902 and she owned several businesses in Calico and Daggett as well as a saloon, a restaurant and a boarding house in Ludlow. "Ma" Preston was Ludlow's legendary "Queen of the Desert" and no serious history of Ludlow is complete without including her.
Oddly, Denair purportedly defaulted on payments and turned the Mercantile Company business over to "Ma" Preston. However, she always cussed that concrete store because Denair’s name was once imbedded in the concrete at the peak on top but she eventually had it removed.
In 1920 Ma persuaded her husband Tom to retire and move back to her native France. She sold the store to Tom Murphy who operated the establishment as Murphy Brothers Ludlow Mercantile. Prior to purchasing the business from Ma Preston, Tom Murphy ran a competing general store that was originally in a tent and then later as a wood frame building on Ludlow’s Main Street immediately west of Ma Preston's 2-story concrete building. Farther east on Main Street he owned a garage / service station, the Shamrock Hotel and Cafe, and a saloon. He is also credited with building the Catholic Church in Ludlow which later burned down. During the time that both Ma Preston and Tom Murphy were operating businesses in Ludlow they were fierce competitors and bitter enemies. However, when Ma sold the store to Murphy before moving back to France they hugged each other goodbye. Ma Preston and Tom both died in Marne, France in 1926.
John Denair was originally a conductor and later a superintendent for the Santa Fe Railroad and was a prominent businessman in the area. He held large parcels of land and a mercantile store at Bagdad, California and in Stanislaus County. In Bagdad he owned the Denair Mill site, he had offices for managing the Orange Blossom Mine where he was part owner, and he owned the building that housed the Bagdad Post office.
Apparently Mr. Denair's Mercantile store in Ludlow was financed wholly or in part by a local business woman in Ludlow, "Ma" Preston.
Matilda (Vigneron) “Ma” Preston had arrived in Ludlow with her husband Tom about 1902 and she owned several businesses in Calico and Daggett as well as a saloon, a restaurant and a boarding house in Ludlow. "Ma" Preston was Ludlow's legendary "Queen of the Desert" and no serious history of Ludlow is complete without including her.
Oddly, Denair purportedly defaulted on payments and turned the Mercantile Company business over to "Ma" Preston. However, she always cussed that concrete store because Denair’s name was once imbedded in the concrete at the peak on top but she eventually had it removed.
In 1920 Ma persuaded her husband Tom to retire and move back to her native France. She sold the store to Tom Murphy who operated the establishment as Murphy Brothers Ludlow Mercantile. Prior to purchasing the business from Ma Preston, Tom Murphy ran a competing general store that was originally in a tent and then later as a wood frame building on Ludlow’s Main Street immediately west of Ma Preston's 2-story concrete building. Farther east on Main Street he owned a garage / service station, the Shamrock Hotel and Cafe, and a saloon. He is also credited with building the Catholic Church in Ludlow which later burned down. During the time that both Ma Preston and Tom Murphy were operating businesses in Ludlow they were fierce competitors and bitter enemies. However, when Ma sold the store to Murphy before moving back to France they hugged each other goodbye. Ma Preston and Tom both died in Marne, France in 1926.
When Murphy moved his business into the 2-story concrete building he continued to use the ground floor for general merchandise and the second story continued to be used as a hotel. “Murphy Bros. General Store” was painted in large letters on the east side of the building to attract the attention of motorists on Ludlow’s main street, but today the inscription is faded and barely legible. In 1931 the store was completely gutted in a fire, but the walls held and the interior was rebuilt shortly thereafter.
Tom Murphy's Chevron station and Shamrock Cafe facing Route 66 in Ludlow, California.
This photograph shows three Ludlow girls in the newest style of overalls from Murphy’s store. Tom Murphy had ordered a supply of the overalls in hopes they would become popular items and he was smart enough to sell them first, and sell them cheap, to girls who were daughters of the town’s prominent citizens. If anyone didn’t approve of the girls’ outfits, they had to say so behind closed doors so the fathers wouldn’t catch wind of such remarks. The outfits were really quite daring for young ladies at that time but soon caught on and became a popular item in Murphy’s store. Venus McNeill is on the far left. The other two girls are not identified.
Route 66 through Ludlow was paved in 1931 but the new highway was relocated about one-half mile north of the original road and consequently Main Street was no longer on the main highway and businesses that catered to motorists began to decline.
The Ludlow Mercantile, the Ludlow Motel, the Pendergast residence and the original Ludlow school are the only old Ludlow buildings that still remain – all of the former businesses on Main Street have been demolished. Murphy’s store has been completely abandoned for several decades and was badly damaged by two earthquakes, one in 1999 and one in 2008.
The Ludlow Mercantile, the Ludlow Motel, the Pendergast residence and the original Ludlow school are the only old Ludlow buildings that still remain – all of the former businesses on Main Street have been demolished. Murphy’s store has been completely abandoned for several decades and was badly damaged by two earthquakes, one in 1999 and one in 2008.
My thanks to J'lene, Venus Pendergast's granddaughter and Martha Burnau for historic photos of Ludlow and original copies of the letters of Venus Pendergast from which this information was taken. Info on Ma Preston courtesy of Delmer Ross.