Abandoned Trader Horn - Kittanning, Pa

Abandoned Trader Horn - Kittanning, Pa. Closed in 2016 when the chain closed, this place just sits available for lease but no one has moved in. Other businesses here moved out in 2018. Now this former Jamesway turned Trader Horn now just sits here and decays.
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[@perryfan49]

Man those photos at then end just take me back to Saturday shopping at Trader Horn in the early 2000’s!

[@kimanderson3626]

As a past employee of this Jamesway, i can tell you the inside was rough back then in 90's. Now as an employee of that Sheetz , it is heart breaking to see that building in such bad shape.

[@crazytiedyemom84]

Agree 👍 as a kid knowing about James way getting supersoaker mom got on clearance when they closed on easter when I was little...i would love to see a local developer buy this and make it into a cool space for kids to come or up n coming restaurant or something that kids could go to after school before after school sports being new high school so close. 😢 i feel u growing up here it makes me sad !

[@perryfan49]

That side of the building where Trader Horn is painted was a battery warehouse for a few years

[@andypeters6694]

I believe the reason for the mirrors on the wall in the one place, was when they had a karate dojo in there. Miss trader horn so bad. 😢

[@countrymakeuplover]

Oh i miss trader horn. Lol We use to go to this trader horn all the time. I live only 20 minutes away

[@GLeibniz1716]

Trader horn had everything including the kitchen sink; shopped for years at the Butler one and was saddened when it closed. Better than Ollie's and big lots.

[@brandyrodgers4329]

True

[@stubby200]

We had a Trader Horn in Indiana,Pa....It closed before all of the others. That was was originally a Weston's Dept Store opened in the late 60's, closed in the late 70's, then became a David Weis. Trader Horn opened in the back part of the store, then expanding throughout the whole space when David Weis went out of business. Sadly, the building was demolished when Aldi bought the lot. The former floor footprint is still there, Aldi built their store in the front corner of the property. Weston's was a cool store,I remember shopping there with the family when I was little. It was a massive sized store for its time.

[@RichardDremdenWolf]

*_I wish I could have seen a Trader Horn when they were still open! Awesome, Wallie! I miss Jamesway though._*

[@elizabethorsillo7187]

I miss Jamesway, too...and Trader Horn!

[@WallieB26]

Trader Horn was amazing. You could find all kinds of things. I remember one trip, I bought mac n cheese, a Pittsburgh Penguins item, and needed a box of drywall screws. Lol

[@RichardDremdenWolf]

@@WallieB26 - *The only place I can think of where you could possibly do that now is Menards.*

[@Karmy.]

@@RichardDremdenWolf same

[@poqou947]

Richard Dremden Wolf never even heard of Trader Horn until now

[@laurenmiller4944]

Wow! So cool to see you made this in 2019! I live close to this building and my High School is just over the hill across route 422. So sad to see that his building looks the same to this day. Although, about a month ago someone started using the Trader Horn side as private storage. It has been for lease, so it was either leased or is being used by the owner. I came across your video when I was looking up the building for a project. I’m taking and entrepreneurship class and I had to find a location for my business. I chose this and had to learn a little more about it. It has a great location, but a lot of renovation is needed 😂

[@crswro1690]

the right side where trader horn was, used to be a sort of like a CVS /rite aid type place back when Jamesway was there. in the secondary parking lot off to the left, there used to be 4x4 hill climbs.i grew up in the area and used to get my GI Joes and star wars guys at that same store... where that sheetz is now, there was an old school drive in restaurant called the cadet iwth a giant stature of a cowboy holding a burger on a plate. not sure if its still there. i havent been back in about 20 years or so.

[@703am]

i have lived in southwestern pa all my life and never did make it to a trader horns ,thanks for another great video

[@MURDERDOLLSW13]

I remember when it was Jamesway and getting all of my Toxic Crusader toys from there.

[@gregwyatt9840]

Trader Horn was a popular retail chain known for its wide range of products, including hardware, home goods, and general merchandise. One of its locations was in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, where it served the local community for many years. Trader Horn stores were often appreciated for their variety, affordability, and convenience, particularly in smaller towns like Kittanning. However, like many other retail chains, Trader Horn struggled in the face of growing competition from larger national retailers and online shopping platforms. As a result, the company eventually closed its stores, including the Kittanning location. The closure was part of a broader trend in the retail industry, where smaller, independent chains found it difficult to compete with larger, more efficient competitors. The store in Kittanning likely holds nostalgic value for many in the community who remember shopping there.

[@sueyoung201]

I actually worked at Jamesway from 1974-75. There used to be a shoe store in the building beside it which later was Stillers motorsports. They sold motorcycle trikes and off road ATV. The end was a health n beauty store first then battery warehouse. Jamesway was like an Ames store. I loved Trader Horn also. If you couldn't find something you needed or a part that no one else had, you could get it there.

[@tigergreg8]

I used to go to Trader Horn , and yes, they had a little bit of everything. Stiller Motorsports is a nice store, and I was a little shaken when I saw it was empty, I didn't know they had moved, and that couldn't have been too long ago. I bought my helmet there for my ATV, and planned on having it serviced there, glad they are still around. That store with the roofing tiles falling down was a store called, Battery Warehouse.

[@mikee2923]

There’s an old Jamesway store on Rt 8 in Reno, between Franklin and Oil City. It sat empty for years. Then it looks like someone bought it. They put up fencing around it and there were big trucks parked in there. It looks like they actually fixed part of the building up.

[@WallieB26]

Oh I know which building you're referring to. I think I did a video there years ago. I can't remember. It's been awhile.

[@dapperdan3204]

There is a Trader Horn in Clarion, PA that also used to be a Jamesway. I sure miss it. If you couldn’t find it anywhere else, Trader Horn had it. There were three in the Butler area. Broke my heart when they closed.

[@Fender178]

My dad used to go to this Trader Horn location. Yeah it is indeed sad what happened.

[@enceladusfox2247]

Very nice building , it is to bad to see it sit like that . But maybe some one will lease it and it will be open once again for you to explore it and enjoy being inside .

[@WallieB26]

Maybe! Who knows what will happen!

[@tigermachine6471]

Trader Horn kittanning was a great store, It was sad to see them go! Battery warehouse lives on, just up the road closer to the Dairy Queen. BW is a great place to visit for your battery needs, also Stillers Motorsport is still going and seems very popular. Too bad the little spot is rusting away. Thanks for putting this up

[@dwoker-yk8gm]

I just realized something... at 3:50 do you see those red & orange stripes? Those might actually be a remnant from Jamesway!!!!

[@joeburkhart3809]

I really look forward to going into trader horn ever time that I need some things. Wen they closed down I was so upset

[@dannyelrod9607]

Thanks for another extroadinary find

[@themusichunter8185]

Begin from the area as a kid. I been in that store with me mum many times seeing it the way it is now make mw feel like, My childhood! TT_TT

[@christopherkunkle1029]

I remember as a little kid going to James way with my grandparents in the 70s . The building on the end was a RiteAde drugstore in the 70s 80s 👍

[@brandonb.6099]

I love the stone facade. Good video as always, wallie.

[@WallieB26]

Me too! Thank you!

[@gregwyatt9840]

As always GREAT JOB!!!

[@WallieB26]

Thank you!

[@chrislemaster2695]

It there a SHEETZ across from this. if I remember right this was off the first Kittanning Exit off of PA 28 North.

[@HilltopGaming]

Yep, that's exactly where it is.

[@misskittykat913]

They use that lot as a park and ride now mostly. During the week there is always cars there. Battery warehouse and Stillers (atv shop) that were in the end buildings, just moved out in the last year. They both have buildings within mile from there. Still in aw how I saw you and Kayla this past weekend driving up 66.

[@boblee4529]

i shopped at this Jamesway in the 80's

[@brandondrescher2182]

Totally has the look and feel of a Jamesway. As a kid living in PA we use to shop at Jamesway in Columbia, PA all the time.

[@jeffrogosz7198]

I learned how to drive a 5 speed stick mustang in that lot 👍miss trader horn used to go to the north hills and butler stores often.

[@toddament8035]

The business on the end was Stiller Motorsports which moved up the road to a new building.

[@news89]

Wow. Former Jamesway building that isn't something you see everyday. Cool find. I think there was a Jamesway in Big Beaver.

[@WallieB26]

I know! The fact you see the faded scar of Jamesway behind the Trader Horn bolt holes is incredible.

[@Joshuuuuuaaaa10785]

It got demolished by a tornado www.timesonline.com/article/20150531/Lifestyle/305319937

[@cici.2unique]

Wow what going on in PA that’s a nice piece of real estate just sitting there

[@joshhunyady6819]

There was a trader horn in Indiana Pennsylvania. It's gone now. But it was cool when it was open. Good video like always.

[@kristennic6671]

The store next door with all the mirrors was the old location of Stiller Motorsports...they sell dirt bikes, ATVs, side by sides, motorcycles, etc. It has since moved up the road to a larger location. My boyfriend has worked there for years.

[@keithjones37]

there is a old Trader Horn in Clairion also

[@80fireman]

The 3rd business you were at had a water line in the ceiling break around the beginning of 2019, which is why the ceiling is seen falling in. I was there with the fire department.

[@MrTodh]

Wallie, The mirrors on the walls are to make the space inside appear larger than what it really is... Stay Awesome.

[@christinaraymond9480]

I use to absolutely love trader horn. I use to go there befor they closed down. The store on the far end closed down in the past 2 years or less it was a store called stilllers I spelled it wrong but it was a atv and side by side store where they sold stuff for atv and stuff like that the owner was hurt in a razor accident not sure if that's why they closed or not

[@kimanderson3626]

It wasn't because of being hurt, he just moved out by Kittanning Care Center to bigger, much better shape building

[@nevermore4971]

I grew up in Brackenridge Pa and I remember going across the Tarentum bridge..(back when it was a toll bridge) over to shop at the Gold Circle store. Lol I used to save my allowance to buy my little ponies there. I also remember when I was in second grade up at blessed sacrament school, a tornado came thru and ripped the roof off of the Fishers Big Wheel store! All the kids were in the hallways and it was soooo loud! There used to be so much in that area. In Tarentum there was a GC Murphy’s that was a great place to shop. There was also one in the heights plaza. Along with a D&K store, a NRM (national record mart ) and the Princess Pastries bakery 😍 heaven! Now a days the heights is almost a ghost town. So many great places gone. The whole Highlands Mall was a great place to hang out. They had a beautiful fountain inside. Oh well.

[@arthurpatterson9018]

I've was in that building.years ago there was one in Indiana pa too

[@jet34thehawk]

Awesome work on the video

[@WallieB26]

Thank you!

[@Nivasi]

Wasn't rural king interested in the Trader Horn before Covid?

[@LostInTheSmoke]

Update on the property. It's being cleaned out. I wonder what they are putting in there

[@EBS-Studios]

Thank You! WallieB26 Excellent Video! Shout Out To Barry & The Z24!

[@barry9892]

Awesome video I drive by the area going to see family Maybe one day you can stop up the Erie k marts

[@WallieB26]

Thanks! I do plan to come back up to Erie as I go up there often. I'll plan on doing updates from the 2 locations.

[@barry9892]

Your work is great Sounds good

[@WallieB26]

Thank you so much!

[@JordanKarg]

Don’t know if you saw but there’s kind in clarion that’s abandoned too.

[@slackingpacking]

The stone wall reminds me of Bon Ton type stores.

[@nikkireeexplores407]

I haven't heard of this store.Awesome video👍

[@chrislemaster2695]

I miss Trader Horn I used to shop at this one and the one in Clarion PA

[@DodgemanSlease]

I remember that store. Hell even when stillers was still in business. Its sad how trader horn was the life of the area with almost everything you could need and at a great price too just vanishes in time.

[@CheapestGamer]

You didn't even try the door at 9:27. lol The one that's not even attached to the building more.

[@WallieB26]

It was a solid wall behind it. The door was just leaning up against it. Believe me... I looked. Lol

[@CheapestGamer]

@@WallieB26 You have to wonder where that door came from though. Was it one from inside the store or one somebody dumped off back there. That fencing around the other end of the building where you stopped and backtracked looked almost like one of the Kmart 'prison yard' fences they have around the old garden center yards. If you ever get back around this side of PA again, I'd suggest hitting up Stroudsburg, PA to see the former J.J. Newberry store on Main Street. It's where the chain got it's start. www.flickr.com/photos/25229906@N00/25149708098

[@KayKay-rt5kr]

Wow, just remembered that this was the first store that I got lost in as a kid :(

[@mattmaverick703]

Looks like this was an old Kmart is this still there? Awesome find Wallie

[@elizabethorsillo7187]

Yes, in Kittanning they probably don’t have much else to do than to drive pickup trucks and hang out in parking lots! 😂

[@WallieB26]

I mean, I'd probably do the same thing if I bought food at Sheetz rather than sit in their parking lot where its busy.

[@kitty2karenlongjacket406]

Hey, hey heyy! I live right around the corner from here and I don't hang out in parking lots.......🤔

[@kitty2karenlongjacket406]

And I don't drive a truck...😏

[@Theyralltakenfu]

Sweets, that TRUCK, that they are taking to the parking lot, probably cost twice what you are driving, It's not 1980 anymore.

[@crazytiedyemom84]

😢😭😭🤟🤟🤟💔💔💔💔 growing up here and working here...delivering pizza in this area in 5 mile radius about a mile from here...it is heartbreaking that this town has nothing 4 kids or youth...(other then hanging out n parking lots or going to Walmart) its just unfortunate small towns dont have places for kids to go for fun or hang out spots...why this area was and is a big spot for opiate epidemic...its unfortunate. I am trying.to move my family closer to city so my teen doesnt end up with the options i had growing up this was b4 sheetz when i was a teen!! 😢love ur content wally!! 😊 this has now become a parking lot for trucks not sure if gas well trucks or what...battery warehouse was there and 4wheeler/dirt bike shop cant think of name at moment wish someone would buy space an make it into something for teens...they built new high school literally half mile away...its unfortunate. Red mill road is directly behind it marsh land western pa weather 4 u!!

[@bradyschreckengost]

I've been in there only twice when Trader Horn still was up and running. I live down by the river in Kittanning and I go past there every day just about. Sad to see the company go away.

[@ZachArmstrong02]

That building reminds me of a old Value City building

[@brianshow2828]

They were a great store for when you couldn't find something anywhere else. They did have a bit of everything.

[@mysteryman7157]

Hi Wally I’m excited for your next retail dramas video what are you gonna put it up

[@jamieswingle5678]

there is a abandoned jcpenny in butler

[@mindyteeters7100]

There is a Trader Horn by the Big Butler Fair Grounds

[@danroney4067]

Mindy Teeters Was.....they’ve all been closed down for years.

[@keithjones37]

Trader Horn was great, could get anything there

[@dennismanbook]

Love to seen what the trader horn would of carried, great explore! That sheetz store for your part of the country would be something like Casey’s, Kum & Go and Kwik Star that’s more around my area.

[@TheAskTrixieChannel]

If I remember, it was kind of like K-Mart, but with more emphasis on lawn and garden and tools.

[@Samjay724]

Awsome my hometown I rember that being open

[@M1dn1ghtclub]

Me and my dad used to check it out,I recently found out they moved instead of going out of buisness

[@cathleenobryan460]

I live near here. As of today 11-15-2021 it is still abandon

[@backwoodsolutions]

My dad said it was a Ben Franklin at one point in time

[@elizabethorsillo7187]

I remember there was a Jamesway in Beaver Falls that was destroyed by a tornado during the big tornado outbreak on May 31, 1985.

[@Oldsvito2999]

My uncle graduated back then and remembers that

[@goldenpaladin]

I have a memory of me and my dad coming here I don’t remember why but I got a toy revolver’s

[@shawnsr8459]

Great video as always!🎃👍

[@saiger9540]

Now, I am too young to know and experience it, however what exactly was Jamesway? Was it like an Ames?

[@chrislemaster2695]

Trader Horn was a way better organized Ollie's Bargain Outlet.

[@chrislemaster2695]

We are getting SHEETZ here in Illinois Central area and Central Indiana

[@gabedaloisio2437]

I live about 5 minutes from here. The store to the right used to sell dirtbikes and stuff like that. They sold really good airsoft guns!

[@CheapestGamer]

We have an old Jamesway in a borough near here (Dunmore, PA) that was partially converted into a Big Lots with the one corner of it being used as a telemarketing office in the early 90's or so. There's still a separate business in that corner. I think it's an office for Stericycle (biohazard, like used needles, disposal company)currently. Anyway for the longest time the Jamesway label scar was very visible. But I think they finally power washed the rest of it away a few years ago. In this image from nine years ago you can still see the label scar: www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/5858466181

[@JackVegetables18]

Awesome video bro

[@sandrahayes6196]

It was water bed store in the 80s then battery warehouse then sold motorcycles

[@cheaplaughkennedy2318]

Wallie do you or have you ever worked on old cars from like the fifties or sixties, thanks just curious. ✌️

[@crazytiedyemom84]

I belive there is one left or recently closed on either route 8 or 422 past butler on way to (me when travel to erie) belive route 8...before u get to the loves truck stop...do some research i know driven by a bunch of times!!

[@oliverfarmer-dx2qs]

i was there when it was still open

[@sleepiehead]

it breaks my heart to see big box stores kill smaller businesses like these and make our lively towns turn into desolate wastelands..

[@bigbird51]

Only thing is, have heard having bird poop on you bring good luck. Sounds crazy, just sharing what I have heard. Enjoy your content, originally grew up in Worthington west of Kittanning along US 422.

[@mkaufman2023]

For a second the stone wall looked like wooden Boards like they were covering up stuff on the building

[@chrislemaster2695]

have pictures of this store from 2013 when this was open! contact me if you want these.

[@Arcticwolf689]

I never heard of sheetz gas station before because they are not in my area I wonder how good are they i do know of Texaco gas station because they are in my area as well in marathon also to

[@TheAskTrixieChannel]

No Sheetz? Do you have Rutter's instead? (They're very similar.)

[@tigergreg8]

Sheetz is huge in this area, so huge that within less then 10 miles there are 3 large stations. They are always busy, and have a decent car wash with each one. They have a MTO station, made to order, that has large sandwiches you pick from a screen and they make it up fresh.

[@ZachElder]

I just saw this building on fb marketplace the other day...

[@matthybel955]

Looks like an old Ames or Zayres style building

[@racersabandonedretail361]

Matt Hybel It was a Jamesway which got bought by Ames.

[@cheaplaughkennedy2318]

Matt Hybel my mom worked at Zayres back in the late sixties, many memories.

[@wyattmiller17]

I'd like to buy it but I can't find anywhere how it is to sell/lease/rent

[@cathleenobryan460]

In his video there was a for lease sign on the back of the building. Maybe you can zoom in on the phone number.

[@FlameDragon]

Sucks you couldn't get inside

[@joshhunyady6819]

Nice Sheetz.

[@dylanlewis2835]

I did find a picture of it as a Jamesway vintageaerial.com/photos/pennsylvania/armstrong/1981/SAR/134/21

[@trentpettit6336]

There was an almost identical Jamesway to this one in Monroe NY which was destroyed by a fire (arson!) in 1989. Jamesway chose not to reopen this store... the chain went out of business in 1995 anyway. Today a ShopRite is on that site. They used to be at the other end of the center where now a post office and a few other businesses are in the old ShopRite building. There originally was a GENOVESE drugstore next to the Jamesway. The store is still open today as Walgreens, but has been Genovese first, then Eckerd (owned by JCPenney at the time!), then Rite Aid, and finally Walgreens. There was an identical Jamesway in Delaware, Ohio which later was the site of a Big Lots (which may have been ODD Lots at one point, but I'm not sure about that) for a long time until Big Lots moved to the former PAT CATAN'S craft store (owned by Michaels, and this Pat Catan's was a former Kroger store) a few years back. And the current Chemed Health Center and WIC office in Lakewood, NJ are in a former Jamesway building which was abandoned for almost ten years. Sadly the Jamesway chain seems to have been almost completely forgotten today. Finding information about Jamesway online is VERY difficult today. Luckily I just happen to know where lots of their stores were. And I can name many which were originally GRANTS (also known as Grant City) as well as ones which were built by Jamesway. Also I can name lots of the ones which later were AMES... and quite a few former Jamesway stores (including ones which were GRANTS originally, and including ones which had been AMES later) later were BIG LOTS stores, but sadly Big Lots has closed or relocated many of these. The former Jamesway in Glassboro, NJ (which was built as Jamesway in 1971, and closed in 1994 before the chain went out of business completely) later was a Big Lots, but now is empty again because Big Lots moved to the former Kmart nearby (which sort of ironically was originally a GRANTS) earlier this year. And the current Ollie's building in Bridgeton, NJ has been GRANTS, then Jamesway, then Ames, AND Big Lots in the past... I'm not sure why Big Lots closed this store. Sadly the shopping center across the street is almost completely abandoned today because both the Acme and Peebles stores closed. The former Peebles was the original Acme in the center, and the more recent Acme was a former AMES and had been a KING'S department store before that. Also, the Big Lots in Somers Point, NJ is a former GRANTS (and a relatively small one built way back in 1962, definitely before the "Grant City" era) which later was a Jamesway. But the store still has its original 1962 floor tiles (in fact they are ASBESTOS tiles!) in the color pattern which most GRANTS store floors had at that time. Jamesway was supposed to move to a new store across the parking lot, but then the Jamesway bankruptcy happened, so the move never happened... and then Acme and THRIFT DRUG (owned by JCPenney) built new stores on that site instead. Acme originally had a 1962 store next to the GRANTS/Jamesway building. Ironically, the former Acme was eventually torn down (in 2001) for a new Kmart store, which closed in 2020. Target will open there by the end of this year. The THRIFT DRUG (along with all the other stores in that chain) became Eckerd in 1997, then Eckerd moved across the street in 2000 to a modern drive-through pharmacy store, which later was Rite Aid and is now Walgreens. I wonder if the new Target will have a CVS pharmacy in it... maybe not because there's already a nearby CVS store. The current Acme had a Starbucks in it (added in 2000 after ALBERTSONS bought Acme) but this Starbucks was closed in 2006 because a brand-new freestanding Starbucks opened across the street, ironically in the parking lot of a ShopRite which has most definitely hurt the Acme over the years.

[@WinDogeFromYouTube]

Hi Wallie

[@arthurpatterson9018]

Other business was a motorcycle dealer Stiller's Motorsport I think I could be wrong

[@Jp77717]

Wheres the for sale sign

[@garbage854]

Cool 😀

[@LostInTheSmoke]

You were legit right by my house

[@WallieB26]

Im sorry I missed ya. Small world!

[@LostInTheSmoke]

Would have been cool to meet you. I grew up going to that trader horn. I miss that store.

[@mkaufman2023]

This James Way almost looks like a Kmart