Searcy AR old Robbins-Sanford building and the famous horse that was their advertisement.

We beat this dead horse pretty well in an earlier blog.

http://activerain.com/blogsview/3485295/robbins-sanford-merc-co-searcy-ar-old-advertisement-woman-s-missionary-society-cookbook

I have very vivid memories of this horse.

One thing we all loved about Robbins-Sanford was the stuffed horse near the front door to the right. I pondered that horse every time I went into the store. This is a picture of the horse from 1936. 

The horse was on a platform with wheels and could be moved from front to back. Kids were given rides. Since Robbins-Sanford sold goods for the farmer, saddles, bridals, etc. were displayed on the horse. Here is some information about the owners from documents held by the White County Historical Society. Perry, Stephen, (owned Robbins-Sanford Co. pre 1887) general store, 1850s, Searcy  Robbins, E. A., owned Robbins-Sanford Co. in Searcy after 1887 (w/ John Sanford) Robbins, E. A., director, Peoples Bank Searcy, 1889.

Here's some  history of Robbins-Sanford.

A mercantile firm which was etched deeply upon the Searcy image for many years was the Robbins-Sanford Company. The enterprise belonged first to Stephen Perry. Perry retired in 1887 and his grandson, John Sanford, became a partner in the business with E.A. (‘Bony’) Robbins. The two had more business acumen than most merchants in the South and they began almost immediately to buy out other businesses … Altogether, the Robbins-Sanford Mercantile Company bought 44 other stores or stocks of goods including hardware, implements, harnesses, grocery, seeds, plants, dry goods, and furniture. Stores were owned and operated by the company elsewhere, as well as the one here in Searcy … the largest such store and warehouse between Little Rock and St. Louis.” I don’t remember just when Robbins-Sanford went out of business but it must have been in the 1950s because I remember buying some of their store fixtures from “Bony” Robbins after we started our business in 1956. Their store was located where Ozark Arms and Van Atkins are now. They had a large freight elevator which is still in place and which Rick Van Hook tells me still works.

I may have the horse in my catacombs. I'll look.