Dunbar Store

(side 1) Dunbar Store, originally called Hermitage, was the center of early settlement here. It served as a store, bar, stagecoach stop, and rest stop for travelers going west. After the Civil War, the bar was no longer profitable. The owner said, "Done bar," which then became the name of the store and the community. Dunbar Store was a U.S. Post Office from May 2, 1879, until April 3, 1901. The owners operated a gristmill here in the 1940s. (side 2) The store was used as a mustering station for soldiers during the Civil War. 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, the neighborhood ladles, 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.