Dunbar Store

Dunbar Store, originally called Hermitage, was the center of early settlement here, serving as a store, bar, stagecoach stop, and rest stop for travelers going west. After the Civil War, the bar was no longer profitable, and the owner's remark, "Done bar," became the name of both the store and the community. Dunbar Store was a U.S. Post Office from May 2, 1879, until April 3, 1901, and its owners operated a gristmill here in the 1940s. During the Civil War, the store was used as a mustering station for soldiers. At the beginning of his first West Tennessee raid, Gen. Nathan B. Forrest and his men crossed the Tennessee River at Clifton and stopped here. According to oral tradition, neighborhood ladies, including the Keeton women, cooked all night and fed the soldiers under the shade trees in front of the store. Other distinguished visitors included brothers Bob and Alf Taylor, who stopped here during their famous 1866 gubernatorial race.

Tennessee · United States