Detours Through Time

Paul and Katherine Richert started Richmond Auction and Furniture in 1954. Their son Roger took ownership of the family business after originally working as an auctioneer in 1982, From there, Roger expanded the business to open Furniture Outlets in Richmond, Muncie, Daleville, and New Castle. Roger’s slogan “I’LL SAVE YOU MONEY” is often heard on local radio stations and seen on billboards across east central Indiana.

The building I always knew as the Richmond Furniture Gallery opened in 2004 in Richmond’s depot district². The 120,000 square foot³, four story building was built in 1886 as Miller Bros Hardware Store. By 1910, the hardware store had grown into the third largest hardware store in the United States, doing over $1 million (worth $35,054,737 in 2026) in business that year. Much of the original building remains today. The back of the building still has the original railroad spur, metal doors, and boards to unload boxcars from the deliveries that were once made by train. The roof and ceilings inside are all original as well. The top floor has skylights which shine through and illuminate the entire building. The ceilings, shelving, inventory tags, and wooden ladders inside are also from the original construction. There were many rooms which carried their own themes. A presidential room which featured memorabilia of the twenty-two presidents who have been through Richmond included but was not limited to Lincoln, Roosevelt, Truman, and Kennedy. There was also a Richmond room which contained historical photos of the surrounding town. The Richmond room also held personal belongings from Paul Richert himself from his WWII days. Paul was a 78^th Lightning Division survivor of Battle of the Bulge. There was a Christmas room that maintained its holiday theme year round. A jazz room was also featured to commemorate Richmond’s rich jazz history⁴.

The Richmond Furniture Gallery recently moved from Richmond’s historical depot district to the east side of town into the former Bargain Center. The grand opening was May 15^th 2026. I was already in town that day so of course I had to stop in. Last time I was in this building, it was known as the Bargain Center. When mom took me there as a kid, the place was filled with a variety of vendor setups. It has been a few years since I was last inside, but I found myself seemingly familiar with what once stood in the now furniture-filled spaces. Walking in on the day of the grand opening felt strange. I was the only customer there at the time, granted I walked in an hour before closing. There were workers carrying couches and placing them on the sales floor. One employee asked if I needed anything. I was honest with her. I was only there to reminisce. I ruminated on what once filled the space. The stock of what once filled the four-story building in the depot district is now slimmed down to a single floor in a building less than half the size. I spoke with the employees about what the former location meant to the depot district and what may come of the historic area in the future.

Before it was the Bargain Center, the now east side location of the Furniture Gallery had a history of other retail operations. The building first opened as Mr. Wiggs Department Store in 1969. This was the company’s 9^th and largest location. With a cost of $400,000 (about $3,629,645 today), the building measured at 55,000 square feet and offered various departments such as hardware, sporting goods, apparel, and tape recorders⁵. In December of 1981, Mr. Wiggs liquidated into Heck’s Discount Store⁶. Heck’s opened in this location in February of 1982⁷. Heck’s reign was short-lived. After only five years, plans to cease operations at this location were announced. Richmond was one of Heck’s 29 locations impacted from the closure at the time⁸. Just over a year after Heck’s closed down, Roberds announced its grand opening in this spot on March 25th 1988. Roberds was a furniture store that sold appliances and electronics as well. The Palladium-Item flier announcing Roberds’ grand opening claimed “…Everything for your home under one big roof…furniture, appliances, electronics, bedding, carpet, and accessories…at the best price anywhere…backed by full service of everything we sell!⁹” Roberds closed its doors for the last time on May 2^nd 2000 as the company struggled through bankruptcy¹⁰. Liberty Bell out of Liberty, Indiana used the space to sell fireworks in 2011¹¹ before the building had a new name once again: the Bargain Center. The Bargain Center remained open through December 31^st 2025 after a continuous struggle to keep business following Covid¹².

The thing I’ll miss most about the Furniture Gallery taking residence in the depot district, aside from the beauty of the historic building itself, is the Christmas festivals that were held inside. Since 2005, the Furniture Gallery held an annual Christmas festival¹³. Events during the festival included horse drawn carriage rides, live music, and treats just to name a few¹⁴. In 2016, the parking lot also featured live reindeer. The kid’s train ride, which sat permanently on the third floor was also an attraction during the Christmas events¹⁵. It appears the Christmas festival was held for seventeen years as the latest newspaper article on it was issued in 2020¹⁶.

Sources:

1. Richmond Furniture Gallery. (2021 March 20) Facebook. Web. Retrieved May 16 2026.
2. Company History. (n.d.). Richmond Furniture Gallery. (Richmond). Web. Retrieved May 16 2026.
3. Palladium-Item. (2014 May 18). P 153.
4. Richmond Furniture Gallery History. (n.d.). Richmond Furniture Gallery. (Richmond). Web. Retrieved May 16th 2026.
5. Richmond to Have State’s Largest Mr. Wiggs store. (1969 July 23). Palladium-Item. P 1.
6. Rick Kennedy. Heck’s has proven it’s no curse. (1981 December 13). Palladium-Item. P 35.
7. Heck’s has busy week. (1982 February 16). Palladium-Item. P 2.
8. Oh, Heck!. (1987 February 19). Palladium-Item. P 1.
9. Palladium-Item. (1988 March 21). P 6.
10. Roberds closes to prepare for liquidation. (2000 May 3). Palladium-Item. P 1.
11. Palladium-Item. (2011 July 1). P 8.
12. Evan Weaver. Old store closing to become Richmond furniture east. (2025 December 22). Palladium-Item. P 1.
13. Craig Mauger. Old Fashioned Christmas excites owners. (2005 November 30). Palladium-Item. P 1.
14. Old Fashioned Christmas Festival. (2007 November 25). Palladium-Item. P 5.
15. Palladium-Item. (2016 December 11). P X2
16. Holidays. (2020 November 28). Palladium-Item. P A2.