MONTICELLO, FL — Monticello says goodbye to a local landmark as Stewart’s Full Service Station closes after 43 years.
- Stewart’s Full Service Gas Station in Monticello was located near the county courthouse.
- The closure continues a trend for full-service stations nationwide.
- Watch the video to hear what the owner and neighbors had to say about Stewart's and the closure.
Monticello's last full service gas station closes after 43 years
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“We gonna miss him. We gonna miss this station being here,” said neighbor Sammy Gray.
After 43 years, the last full-service gas station in Monticello has closed. Stewart’s has fueled more than just cars. It’s fueled connection and community for generations.
For more than four decades, Stewart’s Full Service Station stood in the shadow of the Jefferson County Courthouse in the center of Monticello.
It was a place where someone knew your name, filled your tank, checked your oil, and asked about your family before you left.
“I've always been able to come up here and sit around and shoot the bull, and I don't know what I'm gonna do now. I ain't gonna have no place to go,” Gray said.
Full-service stations like Stewart’s have faded across the country as costs rise and technology changes the way people buy gas.
Owner Stewart Wheeler says this closing hits deeper because Stewart’s was never just a business.
“This station's been my life mostly, and it's been good to me. I raised three kids off this business. Now it's time to turn the page, and let the next chapter begin,” Wheeler said.
For longtime friends Sammy Gray and C.T. Miller, the closing marks both an ending and a reminder of what small-town life represents.
“Anytime you have businesses shut down in your community, it hurts the tax base of our community,” said Miller.
The Jefferson County Economic Development Office reports more than 90 percent of non-farm private jobs here come from small businesses. Many are family-run just like Stewart’s. That’s part of the county’s rural identity and its resilience.
Wheeler says he will continue his towing business but looks forward to having more time with his wife and doing the things he hasn’t been able to do in 43 years.
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