The Recorder – Sawyer News Co. in Shelburne Falls to close after more than 150 years in business
SHELBURNE FALLS — After more than 150 years as a local newsstand, Sawyer News Co. on Bridge Street will be closing come the new year.
Owner Ellen Eller, 73, said she is closing the business by Dec. 31. A new business, a potential gift shop, may be set to move into the space in 2022.
According to Eller, Sawyer News Co. has been open since 1863. A decorative tin ceiling and window pane above the front door made from melted glass are signs of the storefront’s age.
“It’s been a landmark. I used to say, ‘Established in 1863, Abe Lincoln could have bought his newspapers here,’” Eller said with a smile.
She and her late husband, Michael, came to town from Long Island, N.Y., after she lost her job working at Doubleday Book Club in 2004. They had visited this area, where her best friend from college lived, and decided to move. Two years later, in 2006, the two bought Sawyer News Co. from Don and Cathy Upton. Michael, Eller said,…