"This quaint country store, still in operation as a family-owned business after some 60 years, was founded by James Edward "Jimmy" Dunagan in the late 1920s, while working at a blacksmith shop for Zelmer Milton "Milt" Tarter at the junction of what is now Kentucky 1275 and old Kentucky 90. He sold merchandise in conjunction with his shop work.

"When Mr. Tarter moved one mile east and built a larger shop, Jimmy Dunagan and his brother-in-law, Cleve Ramsey continued the store and shop. They closed it in the early 1930s and Jimmy built a store near where this one now stands. It was called "J.E. Dunagan's Store.

"In 1935, Jimmy bought this building and moved it 100 yards from its original site with the assistance of a man from cartwright, Kentucky, a neighbor of Clyde Corder and a pair of mules. The building was moved by winding a cable around a post rotated by one mule. Logs beneath the building rolled as it moved. The trek took two days, but a week was required to turn it around to its present position. Deed books provide a list of previous owners:

1890-Amanda Lanier and others sold 47 square rods of land to James B. Lanier;

___-Thomas Lanier to Eads and Walden;

1903-J.D. Eads to A.B. Parrigan;

1918-A.B. Parrigan to Charles Burnett;

1919-Charles Burnett to B.E. Roberts;

1919-B.E. Roberts to Weaverton Lodge No.871 (Upstairs);

1920-B.E. Roberts to J.B. Simpson (Downstairs);

1928-J.B. Simpson to George Van Hook;

1930-George Van Hook to Willie Dick;

1935-Willie Dick to J.E. Dunagan.

"Soon afterward, Mr. George Catron, principal of the Mill Springs High School entered into partnership with James E. Dunagan. "Dunagan and Catron" was the new name. After two years, Mr. Catron sold his interest back to Jimmy and the store became "J.E. Dunagan's Store" again. It stayed that way until 1946 when Jimmy's son, Everette returned from the Air Force and went into business with him. The new name was "J.E. Dunagan and Son." Everette L. Dunagan assumed full ownership in the mid 1950s and changed it to "Dunagan's Grocery and Supply."

"Everette Dunagan was married in 1949 to a Wayne County girl, Laura Ellen Kelsay and was blessed with two sons, Daryl in 1950 and Duane in 1955. Lake Cumberland was constructed and filled in 1950. With the lake came a new constituent of customers, good fun-loving people mostly from Ohio. Mill Springs Park with the Old Mill was dedicated in 1961.

"As most country stores do, they carry a staple line of groceries, meats, vegetables, dry goods, shoes, hardware, feed, fertilizers, notions, fishing supplies, ice and of course, country ham and bacon. Times have changed, but the store's appearance has not.

"The store houses the Mill Springs Post Office established in 1825, the county's first outside of Monticello. It has been painted by two artists: Larry Hampton of Indiana and Craig Hendrix of Michigan. It has been described in a newspaper article and hardback book by Byron Crawford of the Louisville Courier Journal. It is photographed daily in the summer by people from every state and numerous foreign countries." (Courtesy of Everette Dunagan).