Ed Stoner, who restored the Marienville switcher building with his son, has an unusual hobby.
He is building a “little town” on his property.
Stoner salvages old metal roofing and lumber from old buildings to make new, little buildings.
One of the buildings in his little town is a general store that displays over the door the old sign that once hung on the front of the Crown General Store.
“A few years ago they (the owners of the store) were trying to sell just the General Store part of the sign. When I told them that we would build a building around the sign they were willing to sell us the whole sign,” Stoner said.
Inside the small room of his general store, Stoner has collected all sorts of old items with stories to tell such as a very old glass store counter and two huge flour sifters.
Stoner also has an old cash register from the 1910s that was made for a bar in Marienville as well as butter churns and a turn of the 20th century luggage wagon used at a railroad station.
Several small hand hewn wooden troughs to catch maple sap can also be seen.
Stoner also collects the stories that go with his old things.
At Stoner’s request, the woman wrote down the history of the rocking horse for him.
Stoner says he enjoys collecting pieces of local and regional history to keep them safe and show them to visitors.
“Once you start collecting it sort of becomes addicting,” he said with a smile.
