FRONT ROYAL — Royal Oak Bookshop will celebrate 50 years in business Saturday with an open house from noon to 5 p.m.

The cozy bookstore located at 207 S. Royal Ave. is packed with 12,073 titles – and loads of its own history.

Established in 1975 by Nan Hathaway, the book store started in the red house that currently makes up the northernmost half of the shop.

Owner Tammy Bolden said that Hathaway used the main level for retail — carrying a wide selection of titles with a special emphasis on books on the Civil War and all things Virginia — and used the upstairs of the space for storage.

For decades, Royal Oak has been the only Front Royal store with such a large collection of books for sale. Its five rooms are packed with children’s books, fiction and nonfiction on any and every topic o

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