Nuttallburg's company store stood on this site and likely dated to the town's earliest days. Although few details are known about it, it was probably similar to company stores throughout the coal fields. Virtually all mines had a store owned by the mining company that carried everything the miner and his family needed, and because the coal company literally owned the town, the company store was usually the only place to shop. It became the town's social center and played a big part in the lives of people connected with the mine, serving as a meeting place for women in the mornings and for men after supper. John Nuttall II, grandson of Nuttallburg's founder, recalled that the stores had an excellent stock of day-to-day goods but failed badly at Christmas time, offering almost nothing beyond the daily ordinary and driving men to buy presents such as a good pocket knife, a washtub, or a new axe. The company store was also part of an economic system that often abused workers, since companies paid wages in scrip, a company currency, token, or credit that could be spent only at the company store.