The J. Kean Building, or Kean’s General Store, was built for Captain Job Kean Sr. and his wife Virtue (nee Hann). It served the community of Norton’s Cove, aka Brookfield, in the modern day municipality of New-Wes-Valley, from 1890 until about 1979. It sat derelict by 1996, at which time local artist Janet Davis became the new owner. Janet opened Dory Buff, a consignment based gift-shop in the building after some basic renovations in 1997, and with much assistance, created her Norton’s Cove Studio Inc. in 2002, and has operated her working art-studio & shop there ever since.
The building is open to the public year-round, and Janet along with husband Duke Kelloway, are happy to show guests around the historic building and talk about the history of the area! Kean’s General Store retains most of the staple features of an old shop: wooden shelving, Kraft paper rolls, a cash drawer that ‘dings’, long wooden counters made of repurposed crates, and decorative wooden trims.
