Mr James Horn came to Quartzville in 1880 and in partnership with Mr John C Anderson purchased Mr William Bennet's General Store. Horn & Anderson then went on to purchase Mr John Halliday's Hotel and Store in Shepherds Creek. Mr Horn closed the hotel and transferred the licence to the Bannockburn Hotel. The store continued to operate as Horn & Anderson. On May 15, 1883, Horn & Anderson purchased the Bannockburn Co-Operative Store building and re-opened the store as a butcher, baker and general store. Mr Horn was also the local dentist and was skilled at pulling teeth. James Horn had a killing yard for his butchery at Quartzville, but when he moved to Bannockburn he took up a block of land on the Cromwell Flats and established new yards there. on March 20 1886, James horn and his brother Alexander brought out Mr Andersons share in the business. The Quartzville and Shepherds Creek stores were closed along with the Bannockburn bakery. James Horn was becoming involved with mining ventures as well as storekeeping. In 1890 he got involved in the first gold dredging boom. Alex Horn took over as store manager. in 1902 the business became a general store only, with the closure of the butchery. The store was very successful and in 1904 James horn enlarged his premises. Mr James Parcell was appointed as Manager in 1904 when Alex Horn sold his share in the business to James Horn. He then left Bannockburn to settle in Middlemarch where he took over the general store. Mr Horns Bannockburn store continued to trade until 1915 when he sold his stock to the Cromwell Merchants Jolly, Bowie and Stumbles. At the same time D A Jolly & Sons of Cromwell took over Mr Horns drapery business and purchased the buildings. During the period that James horn owned the Stone Store various people worked in the establishment : Butchery : 1883-1902 --------------------------- Edwin Luscombe (1887-1899) John Scott (1900-1903) Donald Taylor (1902) Bakery : 1883-1902 ------------------------- James Boyd (1887-1889) James Smith (1887-1890) Alfred Harding (1897-1899) Robert Ormiston (1892) Drapery : 1904-1915 -------------------------- Miss Isabella McWhirter (1904-1915) Miss Sophia Ray (1906-1907) General Store : 1883-1915 ----------------------------------- Alexander Horn (1890-1904 Manager) John P Parcell (1904-1915 Manager) Alfred E Yarra (1906-1907) Fred D Begg (1907) Arthur Munt (1907-1908) A S Howarth (1908-1909) William Chisholm (1908-1910) Dudley Tizard (1910) Robert Saxon (1910) Harry C Muntz (1911-1913) Louis Parcell (1912-1913) Store Horses : Derwent, Kate and Carrick

1908 - on Nov 29 James Horn purchased Naylors Store in Clyde 1915 - on Sept 27 James Horn sold his store in Bannockburn and shifted away from Bannockburn.

Thursday was packing out day, when stores were taken by one of the three store horses to the miners camps in all sorts of inaccessible places around the area. In 1887 a young lad who was delivering stores was set upon by a Chinaman Miner. He refused to believe that his order of meat had been left at a pre-arranged location. Determined to get his order of meat, he stole soe more meat from the delivery boy. Unfortunately he was to be proved wrong about the meat delivery. On August 9 in the Cromwell Courthouse he was charged with stealing meat from the James Horn butchery. He was convicted and sentenced to three months in jail.

Miss Fanny Short recalled hat the butcher shop had a large sausage making machine positioned outside the store. This machine would have been driven from a Reid & Gray "Horse Power" with one of the store horses harnessed to it.

In Sept 1905, James Horn took up a claim at the Lower Nevis for the Nevis Crossing Gold Dredging Company (a syndicate which owned the Nevis Dredge)