115 N Main Street

The History

Established in 1916, Weeks Hardware is the longest-running retail store in Hernando County1 turning trade for well over 100 years. Its owner, Josiah Weeks, came from Georgia to Brooksville, Florida in 1890. He used this building, with a traditional angled storefront constructed in 1913 with bricks from the Brooksville Brick Factory, as his office for the Weeks Mining and Manufacturing Corporation. The company had an interest in turpentine, mining, and naval stores. 

In 1916, the Weeks’ opened Miro Hardware Co.  It was run by sisters-in-law Olive & Ava Weeks,  undoubtedly the first women in town to run a hardware store, and also one of the first to manage a store of any kind downtown. “Miro” was a combination of their nicknames, Mammie and Rosie.  Olive and Ava’s husbands, John and James took over management after a few years and worked together until 1936 when John bought out James.

The upstairs was used over the years by Dr. Hedick, Dr. Creekmore, and attorney Col. Lockhart. Dr. Hedick’s dentist chair and Dr. Creekmore’s desk and medical books can be seen on display at the Hernando Heritage Museum.

John changed the name over the door to Weeks Hardware and ran the store until his death in 1947. Then his son, Joe Weeks, ran the store, and his wife, Otella, opened the Olive Leaf boutique upstairs. Joe was named Great Brooksvillian of 2009 for his outstanding contributions to the community.  Otella has been operating the hardware store on her own since Joe passed in 2014. 

The Weeks Hardware building is one of the few surviving commercial buildings in downtown Brooksville which maintains a significant part of its original character as well as its original use. Inside, the building still has a working freight elevator (which was used for turpentine barrels) as well as a tin ceiling and early shelving units. The concrete floor has markings for measuring out rope, chain, and other items sold by the foot. The building retains its original entry doors with transoms above and, while originally brick, it was stuccoed at some point.

CITATIONS/CREDIT: 1, 2. Tampa Bay Times, Sept 10, 2014, Andrew Meacham

Women Leading the Way, 2020, Natalie Kahler

“Weeks Hardware 100 Years”, Hernando Sun