The Great Shelton General Store Heist
Nine hundred dollars in goods vanishes overnight from a new store, leaving local law enforcement with no leads.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On Monday, when Tom O'Neill came down to open up their new store in the Shelton building, it was noticed that their stock had been considerably depleted since the last time they were there. Upon investigation, they found that goods to the value of $900 had been stolen during the night. Entrance had been effected through the transom of the rear door and the fastening removed. The thieves carried off shirts, stockings, blankets, woolen goods, boots and shoes, oats, hams, and provisions—enough to stock a small store. Sunday night was dark and it rained heavily, so few people were stirring. Though no clue could be found, it would appear that the thieves had carried the goods a distance to a wagon and that they had been carted away in some direction. A ham was found near the door, and the transom under the sidewalk nearby. Sheriff Duckworth and Constable Vogtil made several trips in different directions but could discover no clue. This loss is a serious one to the firm of McDonald and O'Neill, they having just opened in the new store with a fine stock of goods.
“The robbers used discriminating taste in selecting their boodle.”
Small-town business owners in the 1880s were just as vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and theft as they are today. The loss of $900—a massive sum in 1889—would be the equivalent of thousands of dollars now, threatening the survival of a fledgling business.
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