General Store Changes Color, Keeps History

The Schooley’s Mountain General Store, one of Washington Township’s longstanding landmarks and historic buildings, is getting a makeover.

The owner, Pete Andrich, decided to repaint the building beige with chocolate trim, eliminating the red color that has adorned the building’s façade for decades.

The building is set within one of Washington Township’s historic districts, according to Eileen Stokes, Washington Township Historic Preservation Commission chairman, and requires that exterior changes to the property be reviewed by the Commission prior to the work beginning.

Andrich contacted the commission on Aug. 23 regarding plans to make repairs and paint the building, the Stokes said.

“In Washington Township, as in many communities, the color of paint is not regulated as it is considered easily reversible and does not adversely affect the historic building materials or change the visual, historic characteristics of the property (architecture),” Stokes said.

The commission also allows for exact repairs–those being made with the same material and the same dimensions as the original–to go without review on historical buildings, Stokes said.

“Historically, the store has not always been red,” Stokes said about the building, which also houses Washington Township’s original post office.

Andrich would not comment on the changes being made to the building.