828 N Cottage St: Cobblestone Cottage and Gardens

The Cobblestone Cottage and Gardens is a flower shop in downtown Meadville that caters to the community’s floral needs. The location began its life as a floral shop in 1992 when it was known as Flowers by Linda and has been continuing to please customers since.

The first known resident on the lot was an autobody shop called Ed’s Body Shop in 1953. After that, the building was home to a series of tool and die establishments. Meadville Tool & Gauge moved in and remained from 1955 to 1957. The lot is unoccupied between 1957 and 1968, but the City Directory marks that in 1968, the Precision Tool and Mold Inc. moved in. In 1972 it became Micro Tool and Mold, and after a few years, the A & C Machine and Manufacturing Co, from 1979 till 1985.

Today, the Cobblestone Cottage is working to make its own mark on the property and its history by interacting with Meadville and its nearby businesses. Through community events the Cobblestone Cottage and Gardens hopes to strengthen relationships with the people of Meadville and to draw new faces through their doors. Co-owner and florist Dan Hunter expressed his wishes to be remembered as a central place in the community. On that, he had this to say:  “At this location, there’s the Diamond Park, there’s the library. You know, where we’re at on the map, this is basically the center of Meadville. This is downtown. And that pretty much the entire downtown is downtown Meadville, it’s not just Chestnut Street.” 

Images

Audio

Dan Hunter gives advice to a young person starting a business in Meadville
Creator: Sarah Cragle and the Public History 191 Audio Team ~ Date: October, 2017
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Dan Hunter speaks about accountability to the community.
Creator: Sarah Cragle and the History 191 Audio Team
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