The Starnes and Parker families erected a building in the downtown commercial district of Albemarle in 1907 with two businesses downstairs and an opera house upstairs. One of these businesses, Starnes Jewelers, has been continuously operated by the Starnes family since the building was built. Francis Eugene Starnes is the third in a line of the Starnes family to enhance the town of Albemarle with their presence. Over 100 years ago a young man, upon stopping to repair a bicycle tire, noticed an old horseshoe lying on the side of the road near Albemarle. F. E. Starnes, founder, picked it up and kept it for good luck. That horseshoe is still at Starnes Jewelry Store. The business has flourished ever since.