One of the oldest businesses in Port Royal, that remained in the same family down through the years, is the H. C. Hower Lumber Co. Henry Clay Hower and his brother, Elijah, established the Hower Lumber Co. in 1885 operating in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The brothers operated this as a wholesale business until 1907 when H. C. bought out his brother's interest and the firm name became the H. C. Hower Lumber Co. In 1932 he bought a retail lumber business from Frank Wisehaupt which he operated in connection with his wholesale business until his death in 1944, when it was taken over by his sons, Dwight B. Hower Sr. and C. Wade Hower, who operated under the firm name of their father.
