The Wallace family is a 106-year Williamsburg retail dynasty now in its fourth generation of purveyors — and with an expanding portfolio of shops, some in Merchants Square and others on the “strip” along nearby Richmond Road.
It all started with the patriarch, Robert Wallce, opening The College Shop in 1919 before Colonial Williamsburg was restored into a living history museum. This location is now R.P. Wallace & Sons General Store. Next came Williamsburg Merchants Inc., founded by Sam Wallace, now operated by Sam Wallace Jr., Cabell Wallace and Sam Wallace III.
All told, there are now six shops plus the family’s Williamsburg Merchants headquarters in Merchants Square: Campus Shop (Merchants Square); R.P. Wallace & Sons General Store (Merchants Square); The Christmas Shop (Merchants Square); The Williamsburg General Store (Richmond Road); Bubba’s Ice Cream Shack (Richmond Road); and Wallace’s Trading Post (Richmond Road) |
