A piece of paper posted on the door of the business reads, “We are closed as of Oct. 28.”

An employee at the store who did not identify herself confirmed last week plans for the store to shutter.

That employee directed any further questions to the company’s corporate office.

Repeated attempts to contact company representatives in the days that followed were unsuccessful.

It’s not clear if there are plans for the store to reopen or if Fort Dodge is the only Earl May location that has closed in recent times.

A Google search of Earl May Nursery & Garden Center in Fort Dodge lists the business as permanently closed.

The building, located at 168 S 25th St., is owned by Bjs Enterprises LC, of Shenandoah, according to the Webster County assessor’s page.

In July 2017, the Fort Dodge store underwent extensive remodeling.

The store’s pet department was removed at that time and replaced with indoor house plants, outdoor living and furniture departments.

Earl May has been a longtime source for lawn and garden supplies. The nearest stores to Fort Dodge include locations in Ames, Carroll, Ankeny, and Waukee.

The company was founded by Earl E. May in 1919 in Shenandoah.

According to information on the company’s website, May was a “natural born” salesman who “quickly attracted a number of capable individuals to work with him in building a successful mail-order and retail seed and nursery business.”

The company’s founder was born near Hayes Center, Nebraska, and became a skilled salesman who put himself through college by trapping wolves, skinning animals and selling turkeys, the website stated.

After graduating, he worked his way through the University of Michigan by selling garden seed on horseback for the D.M. Ferry Seed Company.

He later moved back to Nebraska to finish his law degree and eventually moved to Shenandoah to become an apprentice to his father-in-law.

When the company first started in 1919, it sold “baby chickens, tires, batteries, radios, paint, shoes and clothing as well as seed, mostly by mail,” according to the website.

As of 2017, the company operated 30 stores throughout Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas. The stores are all family owned and operated.