Truck crashes into historic building

The former Hingston Store was struck and damaged by a vehicle early Saturday morning.

The former Hingston Store, a historic building on Penn Cove, was struck and damaged by a vehicle early Saturday morning.

A southbound truck on Highway 20 veered off the road and drove into the wooden building adjacent to Penn Cove Pottery. Steve and Mary Beth Eelkema, who own Penn Cove Pottery and the building that was hit, said they did not know what caused the accident.

The owners had also not received an estimate regarding the cost of the damage as of Monday afternoon. The brick building where Penn Cove Pottery is located was not damaged, and the shop is still open.

The Eelkemas were not on the property at the time of the accident, and no one was injured, including the truck’s driver.

Mary Beth Eelkema said this isn’t the first car accident the property has seen; Penn Cove Pottery was struck by a vehicle at another point during the Eelkemas’ tenure, resulting in damage to the brick work. Drivers try to take the curve in the road near which Penn Cove Pottery is located too quickly, causing them to lose control of their cars, she said.

The Hingston Store building was constructed in 1905, and the adjacent brick building that now houses Penn Cove Pottery was added in 1940. Both buildings served as a grocery store until the mid-1950s, after which they changed hands and purposes many times. The Eelkemas purchased the property in 2001.