| It was in 1888 that Allen C. Blackburn began his general store, in Fishertown, Pa.. His business began to grow, so he moved his operation to a warehouse in Cessna, Pa.. (A. C. Blackburn Co.) where he operated for about 15 years. |
| In 1904 the urge to move brought him to a location on Richard Street in Bedford, Pa., named the "Old Heckerman" warehouse. |
| About this time Allen decided that he needed a partner. Arriving on the scene was Scott Hammer. The Blackburn Hammer Co. became a reality. In a short time Hammer became disenchanted with the business end and wanted to return to sales. |
| Mr. Blackburn called on his brother-in-law, J. Frank Russell, and thus began Blackburn-Russell Co.. |
| In 1927 the original owners retired and their sons, J. Russell Blackburn and Arthur C. Russell assumed management. |
| The business continued to grow and the third generation of Blackburns and Russells began to take an active part in the business. |
| In 1957 four new successors took over. They were John Blackburn, Jr.,Robert B. Blackburn, James K. Russell and John F. Russell. |
| It was in the 1970's that John and James Russell decided to retire and their share of the business was bought by the two remaining partners, John R. and Robert B. Blackburn. |
| The business was expanding and in 1976 was incorporated. The fourth generation started to help with the business operations. John R. Blackburn's' two children William J. Blackburn and Carroll B. Deremer, and Robert B. Blackburn's' two sons, Robert B. Blackburn Jr. and Jeffrey R. Blackburn. |
| In 1985 the company purchased the former Howard Johnson Building on Mann Street and expanded their business to include frozen foods. |
| In 1992 John R. Blackburn Jr. retired, his brother Robert B. Blackburn followed in 1995. The family business is now owned and operated by four of their children. |
| Blackburn-Russell Co., Inc employs approximately 50 employees. Covering the Tri State Area as a full line distributor in the food service industry. |
| Food Distributor |
| Bedford Pa, 15522 |
| 814-623-5181 1-800-325-2815 |
| Thanks to the memory of Fred Ickes, we have an extensive recollection of this photo. As memory allowed, he supplied the snippets of information to Dick Wolf, who submitted the photo from his collection. This is a photo of Fishertown looking north on Valley Road. The small white building was the headquarters of A.C. Blackburn Wholesalers (later moving to Cessna as Blackburn Russell Co., and now located in Bedford). The large building was the largest store of four in the village, built prior to 1877, probably by Uriah Blackburn, who operated a general store in it from 1870 until 1897. The Post Office was also in this building when it was established in Fishertown. |
| In 1960 the company moved to its present location at 157 Railroad Street. The company again bought an "Old Heckerman" warehouse, and added a new addition for offices and warehouse space. |