Built in 1892 immediately after that year's fire, this building was erected by W.T. Hoffman, a German merchant who operated a bakery and sold fancy groceries and heavy dry goods, and it was then a much smaller single-story structure. In June 1903, the property was purchased by the newly formed Edgefield Mercantile Company, a corporately owned hardware, farm supply, furniture, and funeral business that had received a charter from the State of South Carolina and subscriptions for $25,000 in stock. Its initial directors were W.A. Strom, S.T. Williams, F.L. Timmerman, J.M. Cobb, J.H. Reel, A.E. Padgett, J.P. Ouzts, C.A. Wells, and J.L. Caughman, and its officers were A.E. Padgett, president; F.L. Timmerman, vice president; and J.L. Ouzts, treasurer and general manager. By the end of 1904, extensive alterations and additions had made the building three stories tall and added an elevator to carry goods to all floors. The company operated for many years under the leadership of the Padgett family, John W. Kemp, Sr., William Hamilton, and Thurmond Burnett. More than 100 years after its founding, only its funeral division remained in business, and in 1991, after the company had closed its retail business, Crouch Hardware Company moved into the building.