Eisler's Old Riverton Store

The store is on the north side of the road a bit more than a 1/4 mile past the Spring river bridge.
GPS: 37.074941, -94.702792

The current building was constructed in 1925 and housed a small apartment for the family as well as the store. They were still living in the apartment in 1930 when they welcomed their daughter Jane, their only child, into the world. The apartment finally got indoor bathroom in 1939, before that everyone used the outhouse out back.

The Williams operated the store until 1945 when Leo bought the Galena Roller Rink in Galena and leased the store to Lloyd Paxon. Leo passed away in 1948 but Lora continued to run the skating rink until Paxon's lease on the store expired. Then she returned to run the store until retiring around 1970. Jane ended up owning the store in 1971 and sold it to Thelma Ball, her Mother-in-Law in 1972. Ball had run the store since Lora retired. Ball sold the store to the Joe and Isabell Eisler in 1973. Their nephew Scott Nelson bought the store from them in 2011.

In the beginning this was a general store so customers could buy everything from fresh produce to shoes. Leo would barbecue beef and venison out behind the building. For several of the early years you could buy gasoline here, first Texaco and later Standard Oil. The pumps were in front of the porch which has been enclosed in 1933. The large Y-NOT-EAT Bar B Q sign on the front of the building is long gone.

The porch is now a pleasant dining space in which to enjoy one of the deli sandwiches.

It's amazing how much stuff they have crammed into this place. They have a room full of Route 66 goodies to choose from too. It is now also the Headquaters of the Route 66 Association of Kansas. The store was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

Photo(s): 2013, 2016