Industial Challenge: Waycross Grocers.

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I came across this building while exploring Waycross, GA years ago.  These were taken in 2007.  I've wanted to model it ever since.

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Here's the google view.  You can see that it once had rail service at both ends.



 The CSX yard is directly north.

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Some things I notice from the pictures.  The porch and dock obviously wrapped around more of the building than it does now.  However, one end doesn't seem to have had a porch.

There used to be a building next door.  Maybe the furniture company?  It was a larger, judging from the footprint on google, but it was shorter.  It too probably had rail service on both sides.

Google also shows a way to get on the roof. 

At the rate I build things, and with the many balls I'm currently juggling, I'll probably take longer than the deadline, but that's alright.  My plan is to draw it and then cut it out with a Silhouette cutter.  I don't think I've seen anyone try that before so this will be a good experiment.

Can anyone help with reading the faded lettering?  I can pick out "wholesale grocer" and "finest in home furnishings" but that's it.

[C855B]

There was only one rail door, the one without the canopy. The rest were truck docks. Our local history museum is in an old wholesale grocery building, and it has a very similar arrangement, although ours is about three times larger - but still, just one rail door.

I tried to find the company name for you, without success. A good source is usually obituaries, where so-and-so worked for "Smith Wholesale Grocers". So I search for the fragments I can see, such as "Wholesale Grocers" and the town name. I came up with two business names, neither fitting the two or three visible letters.

One of the fun things about Waycross is the junction you have in the last picture. It's so rare these days to find a full crossing with all four quadrant connections intact. The line at the bottom (actually WNW) doesn't go far any more, but it used to be a main from there to Albany.

[OldEastRR]

Interesting there were two spurs servicing this little building. But the tracks are still there. It looks like all those buildings in that area were rail-served, by common spurs. That means 3 or 4 industries on a spur. Just like a model RR!
Can't decipher the first word on the long side sign but it does spell "FURNITURE" right over the script lettering. I assume there's a "CO." at the end. Don't know why they put a sign on the wall not facing the street, and with other buildings between it and the main street. Who'd see it?
One short wall sign is too far gone to read, but the other one looks like "J. Varney (&?)"CO." There is a chain of supermarkets there called Harvey's, may be a connection. The main co is JN  Harvey. Maybe some vintage ads from that store have a clue. -