We are located at 804 Eastern Ave. in Chillicothe, Ohio

Eastern Ave. Lumber Company was originally founded in 1947 by Robert and Sarah Gail Barbee. Originally the company purchased rough lumber products which were re-milled on site into finished lumber for use in the local construction market. Mr. and Mrs. Barbee were joined several years after the companies inception by Robert and Vera Thornton and Bundy and Blanche Ogle. Mr. and Mrs. Thornton continued to operate the company after the retirement and demise of the original founders and other partners. Currently the company is operated by Steve and Craig Thornton who are the sons of Robert and Vera. Currently Eastern Ave. Lumber is the only locally owned and operated lumber and hardware operation in Ross County.

What had begun as a straight line lumber yard in 1947 has grown into a full service home center including lumber, hardware, and paint for the 21st century. Throughout the years, many varied lines have been added to fulfill the needs in the Chillicothe and Ross County area. Our store and yard has, in stock, well over 22,000 different items with timely access to literally millions more. Our companies direct affiliation with three major buying groups, over 20 major distributors and thousands of manufacturers allows access to virtually any construction product at a competitive price.

Throughout the years, Eastern Ave. Lumber has concentrated not only on supplying our customers but serving them as well. We pride ourselves on friendly, knowledgeable sales people who take a real interest in our customer's projects. Our counter sales crew represents over 118 years of experience in the industry. We operate and maintain a fleet of 6 trucks as delivery vehicles for our customers conveinence. Recently, we added a 2 ton Chevrolet "Kodiak" flat bed truck with a 20' hydraulic dump bed installed. This allows rapid delivery of large orders of building products to be job site delivered with minimal hand labor and expense to the customer. The "Kodiak" also serves as a base vehicle for our 20' power ladder which allows us to place deliveries of roofing material to the customer's roof eliminating the labor and danger of carrying product up ladders.

In 1992, we added an in house computer system in order to facilitate customer billing and inventory management. Improved efficiency and error reductions have been realized with greater speed through the check outs resulting better service to the customer. We feel that we have been able to combine the speed and efficiency of high technology with the time-tested principles of one on one service.

In 1998 we purchased part of the neighboring "Haas Trailer Park" property next to our yard to provide additional warehouse and yard space as well as providing room for the future.

In 1999, a complete store facelift was begun to celebrate the transition from the old Servistar theme to the new True Value decor. We are interested in enhancing the selection as well as the presentation of our products. Our goal is to create a pleasant and inviting atmosphere for our customers shopping experience. We invite you to stop in and see our new look!

We are excited about the future with True Value. Over 10,000 dealers purchasing and selling as one. A vast network of True Value regional distribution centers services our store with twice weekly deliveries and over 70,000 items in stock. True Value shares our philosophy of committed service to all of their customers.

True Value Corp., which is 100% dealer owned, recently merged with Servistar Corp. and Coast to Coast Hardware to emerge as the leader in the hardware industry nationwide and represents the largest hardware and lumber buying cooperative in the world.

For the last 50 years Eastern Ave. Lumber has operated with the philosophy of quality products at a fair and competitive price backed up by knowledgeable and concerned people. We intend to operate with the same philosophy for the next 50 years and beyond. We invite you to stop in and see us, or contact us by fax, e-mail or telephone.