Karla Walsh, Southern Living
No trip to Oxford, Mississippi, is complete without a pilgrimage to three places. First, swing by The Circle. Even if you cheer for another SEC team, this game-day gathering place at the heart of the Ole Miss campus is something to behold—and is home to a lot of civil rights history, too.
Then, explore Rowan Oak, the majestic grounds where William Faulkner wrote some of his most notable novels, like Absalom, Absalom! and A Fable.
Neilson’s Department Store is a fixture that’s older than both of those landmarks, which has welcomed Rebels and rivals alike since 1839.
Neilson’s Department Store History
It’s all in the family at Neilson’s, which is named after founder William Smith Neilson. He opened it in 1839—just two years after the town of Oxford was established, and nine years before the first students walked into lecture halls on the Ole Miss campus just over one mile away.
“Later, William’s son Joseph Edwin Neilson joined him,” explains 90-year-old Will Lewis Jr., the current co-owner of the store. Early in its life, Neilson’s shifted locations around the Square. It survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, and many retail roller coasters.
“In 1964, the Neilson family had no family members interested in taking the business further, so they sold it to my dad, Will Lewis Sr., who had been an employee since 1912.”
When the Lewis crew took over, they slowly started to modernize the space and clean up the property, which experienced extensive damage “during the riots surrounding the desegregation of the University of Mississippi,” in 1962, Will Jr. recalls.
Now he and daughter Amanda Lewis Hyneman co-own the department store, which at 187 years old, is the oldest department store in the South. Since 1980, Neilson’s has been part of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s National Register of Historic Places.
True, Neilson’s role as the anchor of Oxford Square hasn’t changed (“when folks picture the Oxford square, the Neilson’s spot on the corner is the first thing many people visualize,” Amanda notes), but its staff and selection have evolved with the times.
The old-school values remain, however: “Our family has always been active in the affairs of the city and university. We are especially proud of our involvement in the development of the Oxford Square as a tourist destination before anyone else did,” Amanda tells Southern Living. “It’s so special when someone approaches me that worked at the store or customer and tells me a story about how kind the Lewis family were to them, and how they always helped when needed.”
Amanda and her father hope to carry that torch forward.
What You Can Buy At Neilson’s Department Store
Located just steps from local Oxford favorites like Square Books, The Oxford Creamery (save room for a scoop of butter pecan ice cream!), and The End of All Music album store, Neilson’s stocks a wide variety of products “for every age group, including clothing, shoes, gifts, and accessories,” Amanda says.
It’s thriving even in this era of online shopping because locals love supporting something that’s so vital to Oxford and because Amanda and her team curate a collection of goods that reflect the trends—and hopefully, start a few new ones. Neilson’s seasoned buyers attend fashion markets four times each year to keep up on what’s new and next, and to select the best from brands like Cole Haan, Ralph Lauren, 7 For All Mankind, Spanx, and more, which join goodies from local makers in the chic boutique.
“Customers tell us they love being able to find big city fashion in a small town,” Amanda says, nodding to Oxford’s pint-sized population of 27,135. “We have 10 storefront windows that I take immense pride in changing weekly.”
Neilson’s also holds so many memories for Oxonians, many of whom have purchased prom apparel, registered for their weddings, or secured precious Christmas presents here.
The merchandise shifts with the seasons, especially when the college town comes to life and the city more than doubles in size as the undergrads and graduate students arrive. Football season ushers in a flood of red, navy, and powder blue—as well as pillows and sweaters emblazoned with slogans like “Hotty Toddy”—while Christmas is the season of sparkle. Spring and summer mean bright colors and all things entertaining.
Each time you pop in, the product mix will probably be different. But the history and the welcoming nature of the Lewis family remain the same.
Read the original article on Southern Living.
