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Call us today at (518) 753-4266

Store Hours

  • Monday - Friday: 7:00am - 5:00pm
  • Saturday: 7:00am - 3:00pm
  • Sunday: Closed

About Us

In 1946, Harry S. Truman was president of the United States, thousands of men were still streaming home from World War II, and a pound of nails cost five cents at Wiley Brothers Coal, Feed, Lumber, and Hardware.

2006 marked Wiley Bros. 60th year and although hardware goliaths like (Lowe's and Home Depot) have long since pitched their tents, Wiley's manages to hold its own and grow.

Wiley Bros.: Yesterday

In 1945, two farm boys turned soldiers marched home from war torn Europe. Abbott Wiley was an artillery officer with the 91st Infantry Division in Italy. Harold Wiley, Abbott's younger brother was a B-17 bomber pilot.

Home looked good, but with millions being discharged from the armed forces, job prospects didn't. However, it just so happened that Ryan and McMahon, a feed and coal business in Valley Falls wanted to sell out. After working there for a few weeks, the Wiley brothers managed to get financing and purchased the business.

The brothers ran a relatively smooth operation for beginners. Perhaps part of their success rested on great military training.

"I went into the military a private and came out a major, so I did have some responsibility. I had a hundred men under me. There's no question the army taught me leadership," Abbott said.

Leadership seems to run in the family. Abbott's brother Harold captained ten men 29 times over Germany in a bomber plane called "Reich's Ruin". There were no casualties to the men or to the plane.

But another and perhaps bigger part of Wiley Bros. early success was in hard working employees and supportive friends. John Clark of Schaghticoke, for instance, worked for Ryan and McMahon before it became Wiley Bros. he stayed on and gave the brothers the benefit of his experience and moral support. Also, William Agan who worked on the Wiley farm before the war had just returned from the Italian campaign. He joined forces with Abbott and Harold.

Similarly, Dr. Charles Sproat of Valley Falls, a good friend of Abbott's, offered financial help from time to time. That was a good thing because in those days credit was hard to get. It was cash on delivery for all materials. "We really need more Dr. Sproat's today and less banks," Abbott said.

And then there were Frank Cox and Harold Kyer, who joined later, and the long list of employees that put in hard, honest work.

In the early days, times were good but lean. Abbott and Harold were both married and only taking home $30 a week, just under half the national average. "My wife and I were putting aside $5 a week against our mortgage, so we had $25 to live on," Harold said. Still they made ends meet. The depression and World War II taught most how.

The brothers worked for close to 20 years at Wiley's original site in Valley Falls adjacent to the B&M Railroad. There they sold mostly feed and coal, farm machinery, and some lumber and hardware. Abbott tackled the administrative work. Harold managed the mechanical end, working with farm equipment, repair and maintenance.

Then the B&M Railroad closed. Both Wiley's knew they wouldn't be able to handle feed and coal economically anymore. They would move to a main road and expand to a more modern store with greater space for building supplies. In 1964 they purchased 13 acres on Route 40 in Schaghticoke, formed a corporation with William Agan, Harold Kyer, and Frank Cox and began to build.

Wiley Bros.: Today

In the nearly 45 years since Wiley's has been in Schaghticoke, it has grown both physically and financially with seven buildings added and profits increasing.

How does a neighborhood hardware store manage this when bigger stores and chains keep popping up all around? The answer is service. A significant amount of time is spent tracking down the parts, pieces and items our customers need but can't find. Our people are knowledgeable and ready to help.

Wiley Bros. prides itself on handling quality products and delivering them to the customer on time. And one thing the "big guys" don't have that Wiley's does is the ability to know most of their customers that enter the store. This kind of familiarity is a welcome change to many other shopping experiences.

Although most of the original shareholders have retired, the company continues to expand under the leadership of President David Moore, vice President/ Treasurer Timothy Wiley, and the other 20 local employees. Everyone is looking forward to the 75th!

- Jyna Scheeren