William Irvin Nordan and Lewis Washington Nordan, brothers and partners in a mercantile business in Abbeville, Alabama, deeded a brick store house at the present location to Lewis Washington's son, Charlie Jackson Nordan, in 1901. The store building burned and was rebuilt twice before 1947, when Charlie Jackson deeded it to his son, William Wayne Nordan, while reserving for himself, as Henry County's Justice of the Peace for 56 years, the right to keep and locate his JP office in the building for the rest of his life. Many marriages were solemnized and many traffic fines were paid in the JP office in the back of the store. From 1947 until 1978, Nordan's Department Store was owned and operated by Wayne William Nordan and his wife, Emma Jean Vick Nordan. The building remained in the Nordan family until 2004, when James W. Rane purchased it.