St Paul Mercantile

09/25/2022

1450 Kerosene stoves will be BACK IN STOCK mid-December 2022.

03/14/2019

We have added the Butterfly #2417 Triple Burner stove to our lineup. This stove can be used as a countertop stove or as a free standing stove with the included leg kit with lower shelf. Priced at $150 for one stove, or $250 for two stoves. We have only about 20 in stock.

11/11/2018

St Paul Mercantile went live on the Internet 20 years ago this month. November 1998. The oldest archive is from April 1999 here.

Y2K Survival Food, Water Bags, Water Filters

10/26/2017

Kerosene Stove prices start at $39. Most are in the $50-100 range, with a couple just over $100.

10/21/2015

I am happy to report that we have now been re-opened and operating for a full year following the fire on Jan 1 2014. Our new warehouse was completed a year ago and is fully stocked. It's business as usual, as we move into the heavy sales months.

10/13/2014

The new website is finally up and operating. Some products are in stock. All the out-of-stock items will be in our warehouse around the end of October. In the meantime, browse all you want, go to 'Login" and set up your own user account, and maybe purchase a few small items!

10/06/2014

We are reopening soon! Our new website will be released any day now. We have a few products in stock today and will have our full inventory by the end of October.

01/04/2014

This photo wouldn't load with my last post. It shows an Amish-made gazebo being placed onto a wood platform on a steep hill. Since our home is on the top of a small mountain, the hill in the back drops off several hundred feet, making a perfect perch for the gazebo, with breathtaking views.

01/04/2014

This photo shows the second warehouse fully engulfed. This warehouse was 4,800 square feet with 12' walls. The first warehouse, which was 3000 square feet, 14' walls, and high-pitched roof, is behind this warehouse, but already on the ground.

Second picture is our southern view. Third picture is the rear of warehouse 1 where a 50' x 12' space is being created for wood storage, outdoor furnace and chicken coop. We believe the chicken coop water heater or infrared light led to the fire. We had more than 13,000 cubic feet of seasoned firewood (more than 13 cords) in this area. Despite numerous dousing, then being covered with foam, it continued to burn for 3 days.

01/04/2014

Due to a fire on New Year's Day, St. Paul Mercantile will be closed for a while. We were getting ready to release a brand new website design early in 2014. Since all of our inventory was destroyed, releasing the new website will probably happen sooner than planned, as we will have very few products to load and no transition issues (old website to new) to worry about.

While the fire is indeed a tragedy and will result in a considerable financial loss and loss of income for several months, it also brings us to a crossroads where we must look at several potential paths forward. Do we rebuild and restock? Do we change our product mix? Do we retire, downsize, and move to Florida? Or maybe we could do it all - rebuild, restock, SELL the business, retire AND move to Florida. If you are a Prepper, looking for a large home on 10 acres in the mountains of western Maryland, with an established business that can easily be run by a Mom and Pop, give me a call.

More than 20,000 customers have supported our business over the past 15 years, and we have become the sole US suppliers for Butterfly brand kerosene heaters and lanterns, Eskabe vented heaters and Crystal Drop stainless steel gravity filters. We hope to decide by the end of January, 2014 what to do with these franchises.
One of the pictures below was taken from a plane - it shows the house, a gazebo with beautiful mountain views, then the two warehouses. The rest of the pictures show what is left of the warehouses after the fire.