Ward & Lappin opened the first store in Janesville.

The evidence

• “In June, 1839, Ward & Lappin opened the first store in Janesville. They occupied a onestory frame building, fourteen feet square, which stood where Bennett's building now stands, on Main street.”

  1879-history-of-rock-county/14-rock-county-ch08-janesville.md, PDF p. 530 / book p. 534

  Butterfield, C. W., et al. The History of Rock County, Wisconsin: its early settlement, growth, development, resources, etc. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1879. Cornell University Library via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/cu31924028871585.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources

  

• “In December of the same year he came to Janesville and in company with the Wards he opened the first general store in this city, in June, 1839 ; in fact, it was the first store of any kind in the town. They occupied a one-story frame building made of logs and it was called "Uncle Tom's Cabin." Their stock invoiced at $350.”

  1908-brown-rock-county/34a-biographical-1.md, Vol. 2, PDF p. 346 / book p. 842

  Brown, William Fiske, editor. Rock County, Wisconsin: A New History of Its Cities, Villages, Towns, Citizens and Varied Interests, from the Earliest Times, Up to Date. Chicago: C. F. Cooper & Co., 1908. 2 vols. archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon01brow, archive.org/details/rockcountywiscon02brow.

  Grade A: Found on a page of one of our sources