Like any good antique enthusiast, Minnie LeForce loved her new shop because of its age and fine craftsmanship and also made sure to learn the history behind the building before making it her latest investment.

LeForce moved her shop, Ambassador’s Antiques and Fine Linens, to a new location at 35 E. Main St. earlier this year after a year of renovations.

“It’s a great home for us,” LeForce said. “We’d outgrown our other store and I had always loved this store from a time when I operated an antique’s booth here. It was an antique itself.”

As LeForce is quick to note, the building used was constructed in the 1850s as a livery stable. In the 1950s, it was a car dealership and later an antique market made up of a number of vendors, including LeForce herself at one time.

“It had been pretty badly altered and stripped when we bought it (in 2011),” LeForce said.

The store’s floor — a beautiful hardwood — had been covered in tile and cement and LeForce had to chip away at it to restore the hardwood. The building’s tin ceiling had been covered by a drop-ceiling which she also removed.

LeForce started Ambassador’s Antiques and Fine Linens in downtown Lebanon in 1995. Prior to that, LeForce had been an elementary school teacher for Little Miami Schools for 30 years. A life-long antique lover, she had operated a booth at Hunter’s Horn Antiques, the store on East Main Street she eventually made her own.

“I’ve always loved early pieces,” LeForce said. “There is so much fine craftsmanship that goes into them, the way they were built, their style and their history. It’s just remarkable.”

Today, Ambassador’s Antiques and Fine Linens specializes in a variety of fine pieces from Europe and the United States. While the store has pieces from as far back at the 17th century, it specializes in 18th and 19th century works from the U.S., English and French country and formal.

“We only have high-end, high quality pieces,” said LeForce, who travels out-of-state to obtain many of the pieces in the store.

Among LeForce’s favorite pieces are a pair of 1830s full size, four post beds; a 19th century French wooden barometer with intricate carvings; a collection of 1880s Punch and Judy figurines believed to have been used in the Ringling Brothers Circus; and an 1880s cutter sleigh that is still in working condition and is the centerpiece of her Christmas displays.

As the name implies, Ambassador’s Antiques and Fine Linens also carries an extensive line of fine linens and bath products. It has bed sheets made of Italian silk, fine cotton, 100 percent linen and 100 percent organic flax.

The store carries quilts and duvet covers made of handwoven Italian fine cotton. It also has a collection of high-quality baby bedding, clothing and heirloom blankets.