By Jarrid McCormick

April 29, 2020 - State Electric and Supply Co. recently closed its location in South Williamson, Kentucky, after 41-plus years of serving the Tug Valley area.

State Electric President John Spoor said that deciding to close the store was difficult but that it was a business decision impacted by the downturn of the coal industry as well as the completion of U.S. 119 to Pikeville and Logan.

State Electric and Supply Co. closed their location in South Williamson, Kentucky, on April 10, 2020, after 41 years of serving the Tug Valley area.

Photo: Jarrid McCormick, Williamson Daily News

“We’ve been in South Williamson for some time. It’s a mining centered location for us, and it is well known the impact the mining industry has had in the area,” Spoor said. “Then the fact that we have locations in Pikeville and Logan and with the four-lane going through there now and the continuity and connectivity of those two locations, we decided to close the Williamson store.”

Spoor said the closure was originally planned to take place this summer, but they decided to accelerate the closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that all of the staff from the South Williamson location would still remain with the company and would be placed at either their Pikeville or Logan stores.

“It’s been a good store historically in Williamson,” Spoor said. “We got a great team there. We’re going to just absorb them into the other two locations. Just the progress of the highway and the ability to get around in that area a lot easier, we really didn’t need three locations serving that market.”

Spoor said State Electric would continue to service the area and referred customers to the two nearby locations in Pikeville and Logan.

The South Williamson location opened its doors in December 1978 and closed for the final time on April 10.

Spoor said he was confident that they would be able to sell the building and that he was hopeful it would stay occupied and another business could move into the space.