Originally founded in 1869 in Leon County, the store has been in Belton since 1884. Currently, it is co-owned and operated by the sixth generation Robert Roy Potts and his parents, Roy and Jean Potts (the fifth generation), who bought entire ownership of the business in 1970.
History and memorabilia from the store, which is considered the state’s oldest family-owned department store, are on display in the upper floor of the building and include items such as original ledgers from the early days (including the original 1869 ledger), old sewing machines, typewriters and cash boxes - just about anything you could find in a department store that has done business in three centuries.
If Jean Potts happens to be there when you visit the museum, she will likely show you the “well,” what some people might know as a “dumb waiter.” She sees it as a throwback to a day when department stores and other shops were more service oriented than many stores seem to be nowadays.
When a lady decided on purchase, she said, the item was placed in a basket and lowered down the well to the cashier on the ground floor while the customer walked downstairs to pay.
And if the upstairs museum is steeped in the history of the business, the Potts’ believe the employees of the company are also a part of its history. But, Roy Potts says, they are also a lot like a family.
During the three generations of Potts family ownership the store in Belton has seen since 1917, Roy Potts said that when he thinks back on the years, it’s the employees he remembers most.
“We had some good employees over the years,” he said. “We had a lot of employees that worked for us over 50 years.”
One of those was Elsie York, who will be 91 years old this October. She worked nearly 62 years for the family after being hired by Roy Potts’ father. After she retired from the company in 1998, she continued to work for the family up until about a month ago.
“They were nice people to deal with and I liked all of the employees,” she said of her years at the store. “We had a lot more employees then,” she said, speaking of a time when service was a priority. “Nowadays you help yourself.”
She said good service back then was good for the customer, but also for the store.
“Roy (Potts) said you could sell the customer more the longer you stayed with them,” she said.
Her reasons for staying with the company so long are simple.
“I thought they treated me well,” she said. “I liked to work there and I just kept on staying.”
Rob Potts, who began working full time at the store in 1949 after he graduated from college, understands the unique nature of a small business that has stayed in a family for such a long time.
“It’s very unusual,” he said. “You don’t often see that.”
Although he believes he will stay with the company, it is not fully decided yet if any of his three boys will one day become the seventh generation of the Potts family to mind the store.
“I just don’t know yet,” he said of that possibility. “They’ve all worked here and I’m exposing them to it,” he said.
