Murphy Bateman Building Supplies was established in 1928 by Murphy Bateman as a lumber, sash and door supplier to the Franklinton area. His son-in-law, Leon Knight, joined Mr. Bateman in the business and it continued to grow. In 1953, Leon Knight purchased the business from Murphy Bateman. The store enjoyed a mix of contractor and consumer sales. In 1964, Leon’s son, Richard, joined his father in the business and purchased it from him in 1973. Additional properties were purchased for future expansion. In October 1983, Murphy Bateman Building Supplies joined Ace Hardware. In 1993, Hunter Knight joined his father Richard fulltime. Due to the continuing growth of of the business, a new store was built in 1996, following the Ace Hardware guidelines for “store of the future”. Hunter Knight purchased the business from his father in 2006. He is the present owner/operator of Murphy Bateman/Ace Hardware. It has received several awards from Ace Hardware, both regional and national.
