I'm 61 and starting sewing in 4-H when I was 9 so that would have been the 60s! We had always lived in one town - Roseville CA. We had a House of Fabrics and my Mom thought they were too expensive. They enlarged in the early 90s and then went out of business. In the basement of our JCPenney's , they carried fabric and notions. A bit later Hancock's came into play and then Hart's Fabric. Except for Penney's which no longer sells fabric, the others are out of business. Joann's started small and now they have a pretty good sized store.
So for us, there were no independent fabric stores. It is kind of sad to see the changes and closers but I guess change is here to stay!