For me, the word pennywise always brings up a mental image of Benjamin Franklin and a printing press. It just seems to have a nostalgic ring to it. That’s why, when the opportunity came for us relocate to a historical landmark only five miles from our home, we jumped on it.
We started PennywiseLearning.com in 2002. Like a lot of home birthed businesses, it started in one part of the lower level and eventually had taken over most of the house. Which by the way is a great problem to have. By spring of 2008, we really had no choice but to look at our options.
Imagine a home with eight children and two adults. Fill the entire lower level with offices, shipping areas and many thousands of dollars worth of inventory. Then add in three or four employees, UPS, Fed EX, sales people, and a tractor trailer of two waiting to be unloaded.
Do you begin to get the idea of what it must have been like visiting the Pratt house? I remember people coming to visit and saying, “you really live like this?”, and we were like, “yeah. We wouldn’t have it any other way”.
But after one very hectic morning, Kristen and I had go out to run some errands and I remember saying, “I think it’s time”. To that she replied, “funny you should mention it, I saw this building I have always loved in town is for sale. Do you want to take a look?” So we did and within a day we made a ridiculously low offer knowing that if they said yes, it would only be the Lord. Of course, they accepted it on the spot.
The building was built in 1876. Built on the Erie Railroad it served as a dry goods store and the original post office in town. It even housed the town hall for a bit in the late 1800’s. It still has the original safe along with all of the receipts and paperwork from the 1800’s to the 1950’s.
This 7,000 square foot building is a treasure to us. There is enough room for inventory, offices, and even a warehouse outlet store. There’s even a loading dock where the horse drawn carts used to load and unload. To top it off we have the hitching post sill out in front of the huge front porch.
We love the fact that we have the opportunity to recycle and reuse this building as much as we love the history of it. Located less than five miles from our home, we could not have asked for a better location for PennywiseLearning.com
We spent the first two months gutting, cleaning, and remodeling the inside. After a lot of work, we moved in October of 2008. Of course there’s a long way to go finishing it off but we’re off to a great start. Best of all, now when I think of the word pennywise, I think of Ben Franklin, the printing press and of course, the Pennywise building.
This is an actual photo of the building in the early 1890’s given to us by the Town of Collins Historical Society. Notice the horse in the front and Rte. 39 is a dirt road.
Our building was featured as one of WNY’s Historical buildings. This is a sketch that appeared in the book.
