According to the current incarnation of the business, the original Draper Mercantile was founded by E. G. Gannaway, G. H. Gilmer, E. T. Pratt, and J. H. Pratt, who ran the store as a partnership until 1944, when Gannaway’s sons, G. Gilmer and Lawrence C., bought out the Pratt and Gilmer interests and operated the business until 1979. In addition to its offerings in general merchandise, the store at times housed a blacksmith, barbershop, millinery, dress shop, and the local post office.

Ownership passed through several hands in the following decades, with the building becoming home to a furniture store and, later, an antiques dealership. In 2008, Debbie and Bill Gardner purchased the store and reopened it as the Draper Mercantile and Trading Company, returning the store to its original purpose but with a focus on locally produced goods.