History.....
Stretching along southern Nebraska from Omaha in the East to the western border with Colorado is Highway 6. In the far southwest corner of the state on Hwy. 6 is the small town of Indianola (pop. 624) where Lord's Hardware & Appliance has been, along that highway, in the same building, since 1882.

Now, with the fourth generation running the business, it has earned notable distinctions making it one of the most unique businesses in the country.

In the latter decades of the 1800's, as Americans swept inexorably West across the Plains, small towns sprang forth in that path. Indianola, like many of its kind, would come into being, only after the obligatory trials and tribulations of founding a new town. Indeed, surveyors and others, notably land investors, would suffer death from marauding Indians in the decade before it was eventually founded.

Subsequent to its founding in 1873, there were relatively few businesses but the coming of the railroad with its terminus at Indianola greatly expanded the population to around 1000 which became its zenith in that regard. Naturally, the activity of that time would bring numerous new businesses into life.

In 1882, on a corner of the intersection of main street and Hwy 6, Andy Lord opened a harness shop. Within two years, he would expand into hardware and leave behind the harness business. Naturally, one could expect that Andy gave little thought to longevity beyond his own earthly presence.

But his son, Mac would continue the business and his son, Cliff would do as well. Now Cliff Lord's son, Tim and the fourth generation, carries forth a tradition that is so rare in any endeavor.