The Edward Store was established in the early 1850's by Thomas & Nancy Hardaway Edwards, who made their way along the Fort Smith & Fort Towson Military Road before it became the Butterfield Overland Mail Stagecoach Route in 1857 - 1861. The Butterfield Overland Stagecoach shut down in 1861 during the time of the Civil War. After the Civil War ended, the store continued to be in use, without the Butterfield Stagecoach coming through. Many settlers have traveled along the old Military/Butterfield trail and stopped at the store for food and or overnight stay. In 1868, just a few distance, a town was settled just a half a mile from the store called, Red Oak. Edward used his store as a post office until moved to the new located Red Oak, just a few miles south of the store site in 1902 due to the crossing of the railroad.
The Edward store kept on operating until the early 1900's and the town started to dimmish through the years. Jesse Hardaway, kept up the place after his Aunt Nancy & Uncle Thomas passing in the mid to late 1800's.
Today, the cabin of Thomas & Nancy is still visible and under renovation by Chrissy Dickmeyer, a descendant of the Nancy Hardaway. ‪@AdventuresIntoHistory‬ ‪@okhistoricalsociety‬ ‪@ChoctawNationOK‬ ‪@barbaraschleiff3774‬ ‪@CC_Outdoors‬