In June 1964, Dr. Henry Hill announced that he had hired local contractor D.A. Holbrook and Sons to construct a new building on the east side of South Second Street. The first tenant in the building, the Sears Catalog Sales store, moved from its old location that had been further north toward the square on Second Street. Sears opened in this new building during a grand opening celebration, which was held Nov. 5-7, 1964. The business stayed at this location until May 1976 when it moved to East Albemarle. In September 1977, Western Auto moved into the building. They were there until the business closed on April 24, 1982. The following July, the Stanly County commissioners voted to purchase the building from Dr. Hill, who had maintained ownership. The front of the building was redesigned (shown in today’s picture) and the interior was renovated into office space for county school administrative staff that moved in during 1983. In 1999, due to a need for more space, the school officials moved out and the building became the new home of the Stanly County Sheriff’s Office. {Lewis Bramlett – Stanly County Historical Society}