Grab It Here was a chain of cash-and-carry stores that existed from 1903 to the end of the 20th century in Illinois and Indiana.

C. Sherman Paxton moved to Illinois from Kentucky as a coal miner around 1901. He began saving money to open his own grocery store. By 1903, he had saved $185 ( in modern terms) and opened a small store in Georgetown, Illinois. The store was originally called simply the "C. S. Paxton Store", and he ran it on credit and made deliveries; Paxton closed the store for a time during a coal strike but returned later and opened the store again.

In 1919, Paxton opened a cash-only store managed by his son Ernie and it was here that the "Grab-It-Here" name first appeared. By the 1930s, there were several cash-and-carry stores in operation. By 1941, that grew to a chain of 40 stores. In 1968, Grab-It-Here became affiliated with Dolly Madison Industries. By the 1980s, the chain was defunct.

C. S. Paxton died in 1950.

Locations Here is a list of stores according to an anniversary brochure from the 1960s:

StoreAddressCityState1M101 North State StreetGeorgetownIllinois3M143 North State StreetWestvilleIllinois7MIllinois StreetChrismanIllinois9M103 Main StreetHomerIllinois11MYates StreetNewmanIllinois18M12 South Hazel StreetDanvilleIllinois21Main StreetKingmanIndiana22MMain StreetPotomacIllinois25M320 Washington StreetCovingtonIndiana27M206 Main StreetVeedersburgIndiana30Buena VistaKansasIllinois32M108 Washington StreetWilliamsportIndiana37M100 Jones StreetMilfordIllinois38M517 West Madison StreetDanvilleIllinois46Main StreetBoswellIndiana47M102 Chicago StreetRossvilleIllinois51M129 North Central StreetParisIllinois57M25 West Fourth StreetSheldonIllinois66M220 North Market StreetPaxtonIllinois69M2715 North Vermilion StreetDanvilleIllinois70MJefferson and York StreetsRockvilleIndiana71M855 East Fairchild StreetDanvilleIllinois72MProspect and Sherwood StreetsChampaignIllinois73M200 East Main StreetAtticaIndiana74MSeymour and 4th StreetsKentlandIndiana75M2nd and Walnuts StreetsWatsekaIllinois76M1113 East Main StreetDanvilleIllinois77M317 South Market StreetHoopestonIllinois78MPembroke and Parke StreetsTuscolaIllinois79MDivision and Hubbard StreetsCayugaIndiana80M1615 SpringfieldChampaignIllinois81M109 East Market StreetCrawfordsvilleIndiana82M417 South Gilbert StreetDanvilleIllinois83MFairchild and Robinson StreetsDanvilleIllinois84MAdams and Fourth StreetsFowlerIndiana

References

Grab-It-Here anniversary booklets from the 1950s and 1960s, courtesy of the Vermilion County Historical Society The Heritage of Vermilion County magazine, published by the Vermilion County Museum Society