Commissary Building

The Commissary later became the Thurmond Post Office which closed in the 1990s.

NPS

Quick Facts

Significance:

Historic Building

Thurmond Walking Tour Stop 2

In 1929, Fitzgerald & Company built a commissary on land leased from the C&O Railway. The commissary provided food and supplies to railroad workers in Thurmond. Part of workers’ paychecks could be set aside for food and supplies from the commissary. Unlike the stores of the coal company towns, this was optional. Workers were not forced to buy from the commissary.

The first post office in Thurmond opened in 1888. For years it operated out of the Thurmond Hotel. In 1963, after fire destroyed the hotel, the U.S. Post Office moved into the old commissary building. The post office served the town of Thurmond until 1995 when it finally closed its doors. In the late 1990s, the last business in Thurmond operated out of the old post office. Thurmond Supply rented bicycles and sold ice cream to visitors. It closed after only a few years. The building is currently privately owned.