This is Riverrun Books in Greensboro, Pennsylvania. Not only does this bookstore have one heck of an odd business model, it’s also located in a surprising (but somehow beautifully appropriate) setting. Never heard of Greensboro? I hadn’t either.
Greensboro is in Greene County and almost to the Mason Dixon Line. The shop’s owner said that this building had long ago been the factory and showroom for a once-famous brand of blue pottery. After that it became a general store. Now it’s a bookstore, of course, what else? The shady back porch of the bookstore is bedecked in potted plants and overlooks a green lawn descending right onto the Monongahela River. What a beautiful place.
The quaint street where the bookstore is located dead ends in the river. There’s really not much in Greensboro except houses. Even the churches seemed to be out of business. This is a place of confederate flags and Trump banners and angry hand painted signs saying such things as, “Stand against all foes foreign and Demo-Rat.” And yet, here’s Riverrun Books, an oasis of beauty and calm amid the illiterate chaos of Trumpdom. Of course, I know nothing of the political leanings of the owners; I only know that they love books….so maybe make a guess?
The book shop is only open on weekends between the beginning of September and the end of April. The owners spend the rest of the year running a more lucrative store near Virginia Beach.
So I caught it on the very last day it would be open for the season—the last Sunday in April—though I’m not posting about it till June.
I could have spent hours here, digging through the disorderly stacks. In fact, I did spend hours, but could have spent more. The only other customers in my, say, 2.5 hours here were a young couple who didn’t stay long, sort of “emo” looking. I sidled up to them and asked, “So…how did you guys hear about this place?” They seemed surprised. They said, “We’re from Morgantown, so this is one of the few bookstores in the area.”
It wasn’t a cheap place either….
But you pay for the atmosphere and the sense of discovery, I suppose.
I did come across some unexpected finds out here. But it makes me sad to think of this lovely spot sitting empty and quiet until the fall.
And here’s the back porch, overlooking the river. Since making this discovery, I’ve also done a 60-mile pilgrimage in Scotland and England. To see photos of that experience, click HERE.
