It Happens Here: Inside Jeff Kinney's Plainville Bookstore 'An Unlikely Story'
PLAINVILLE (CBS) - Plainville, Massachusetts was founded in 1905 and got its name after Wrentham residents referred to the area as "the plains." It's also where you'll find a bookstore with a storied history of its own.
"It's called An Unlikely Story, but we wanted everything about it to tell a story." Jeff Kinney, the owner of An Unlikely Story, told WBZ-TV.
Kinney is better known for his world-renowned children's book series.
"I wrote the 'Diary of a Wimpy Kid' series, the first book, a few blocks from here," he said, a few blocks from what used to be a treasured part of Plainville - an old general store from 1856.
The weathered store was built across the street before oxen dragged it to its current location. Today, Jeff's bookstore strives to tell the story of its many chapters.
"We found the signs, the photos of the signs, and then we recreated the signs. So all the way around the perimeter, in order of existence, are the things this building used to be," he said.
And with each step, you'll see another piece of Massachusetts.
"The floors, for example, are from an old horseshoe nail making company in Dorchester, Massachusetts."
The origins of this building are on full display. But the story of this bookstore continues to be written upstairs.
"This is Wimpy Kid Incorporated," Jeff says of his workplace, which is full of collaboration and imagination. And that feeling of spark and creativity is felt through the rest of the bookstore.
"Every so often there's this feeling of electricity in this building," he said. "Sometimes it's kids yoga, and sometimes it's a big-named author."
"It's sort of like 'The Muppet Show' back here. You never know what you're going to walk into," Kinney added.
Walking through these storied shelves, you quickly realize that having a town revolve around a bookstore isn't as unlikely of a story as you may think.
"I'm really hoping to build up more of the town around the bookstore and to have the bookstore be the jewel of the town," Kinney said.