When the local Masonic Lodge was in need of a new facility, it was George F. Jones, a brother of that order, who suggested a second story be added to the single story building he was constructing on the corner of Front Street (now 1st Street) and Broadway. The Lodge and the local chapter of the International Order of the Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) collaborated on the effort and pooled their funds for the $10,840 cost of the project. The fraternities met in the upper story of the building and rented out the lower story to respectable businesses.
When the building was finished in 1871, the lower story was occupied by one of several hardware stores in the downtown area and has been to the present day save for a brief period from 1913-1915 where the lower story served as the local post office.
A young Sylvester (Syl) Lucena worked at Collier Hardware through his school age years and then returned from a successful teaching career to buy in as a partner in 1963 and purchased the remaining shares in 1971 to takes over the business in whole.
Currently, Syl and his three sons, Marc, Steve, and Matt own and operate Collier Hardware.
