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About Vigilant
From Firehouse to Bookstore
Benefits of an Indie Bookstore

Old buildings have multiple lives, what they were built for, and what they became later, again and again. The Vigilant building had two major lives, and a third one now coming. 

The Firehouse Years  1891-1976

The Lost Years  1976-2018

Vigilant Bookshop  2018-to the future and beyond!

A number of studies have pointed out that local, independent businesses, such as Vigilant Books, keep a greater percentage of sales in the community than chain stores do. For every $100 spent in a locally-owned store, $73 keeps circulating in the local economy, whereas only $43 remains in the community when the same $100 is spent in national chains. And if $100 is spent online to an out-of-state retailer, zero dollars comes to Wheeling.  

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