On Tuesday, the last remnants of the gas station and restaurant that William Gilbert opened in 1927 were demolished following a years-long effort to salvage the structure.
When the station opened, the intersection was just a corner—today’s Rt. 15, built as the post-Civil War toll road, did not extend south of Rt. 50 until 1941.
After the gas station closed in 1982, community efforts focused on preventing large-scale commercial development at the rural crossroads. Today, the lot is part of some 300 acres around the intersection owned by the Piedmont Environmental Council…