New Plaque Commemorates History Of Faucett Brothers Building In Downtown Northport

NORTHPORT, AL — For most Main Streets in America, progress is inevitable and Main Avenue in Northport is no different.

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Still, one store owner unveiled a lasting monument Tuesday in an effort to preserve the history of Northport's historic downtown and the people responsible for its success over the decades.

Susan Rue, owner of Rhubarb's Real Living, premiered a bronze plaque on the front of her store, which occupies the former Faucett Brothers store — a moniker it is still referred to in the present day.

The plaque features the names of the three brothers who started the Faucett Brothers general store at the downtown location in 1937: J. Roy Faucett, S.P. "Bill" Faucett, Jr. and W. Lewis Faucett.

The location was owned and operated by the Faucett family until it was sold in 2009. However, Rue wanted to ensure that the contributions of the three brothers were not soon forgotten.

Revered Northport businessman and Alabama Business Hall of Famer Sam Faucett III, the son of Bill Faucett, Jr., was in attendance for the unveiling and did the honors of ripping away the brown paper wrapping the plaque in front of a small group of friends and family to see.

He also thanked Rue for preserving the memory and legacy of his family.

"Last year, I was fortunate enough to get a facade grant," Rue said. "We love the Faucett name and we loved it for the first four years we were here, but [the improvements] did require painting over the name [on the front of the building] and I remember just being sad that day about that because I knew what a legacy that [the Faucetts] had left here."

Rue then commented on the stories many have shared about visiting the store during its heyday, before heaping even more praise on the beloved family.

"There's just so much history that was here," she said. "I just wanted to do this for the Faucetts. Even today, when you talk about our location, I say it's in the Faucett building downtown and it will always be the Faucett building, so what we wanted to do was memorialize that."

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