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Project Discussions:  May Learning Together: The Old Country Store  |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3457 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3457 Posts |
 Posted - May 02 2020 : 1:08:39 PM
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Recently, I have been reading about America's iconic old county store and decided to share with you what I learned. The origins of the country store began during Colonial Times as people began to move out of the urban areas to explore the new West. Land was plentiful and cheap and many decided to strike out alone or in small groups to set up a new home and farm. Since there were no stores readily available and sometimes a several day trip to one, Peddlers began to make the rounds with all sorts of things to purchase. As the Peddlers were able to acquire more and more goods, they soon set up small stores on the main traveled roads and later the railroad stops. When these new little country stores grew large enough and the area had more families to serve, the Post Office was set up inside the stores with the store owner the usual Postmaster as well. It was truly a one stop place serving the needs of these rural farmers and small towns. We have all seen the little general stores shown in movies of mining towns, and railroad stops. They were important gathering places and providers of much need supplies.
The role of these early General stores was huge and they usually did a good business. Owned by families and handed down to next generations, the owners were seen as important pillars of the community as well. The diversity of products offered were immense and can be divided into some general categories.
1. All sorts of dried food supplies like flour, sugar, tea, coffee, cornmeal, beans , nuts, grains, and candies. They also had local produce, fresh eggs, canned foods, and pickled items in huge crocks and glass jars.
2. Fabrics and sewing notions were available for making new clothing and repairing old.
3. Home products included things like kerosene for lamps, dishes, crocks for storage, medicinal things for various ailments, cuts, wounds, and pots and pans.
4. Tobacco, ammunition, and basic building supplies like tools and nails were available. There were also supplies for livestock such as feed and care supplies, and sometimes some farm equipment. Crop seeds were usually also available. As you can see, the general store functioned like a grocery store, hardware store, and Tractor Supply all in one place. Amazing!!
5. A very important role the general store played was that of a community center and gathering place. Inside the stores were usually a large pot bellied stove where men would gather to visit, exchange information, play checkers and just enjoy the camaraderie. Most general stores also had a place for community postings of events, elections, things of interest and also the Outlaw posts from the Sheriff. The general store was a central gathering place and people and families came once a week to see friends and shop for essentials. The store was a vital link to resources, friends and information.
The role of the old country store began to change in 1896 when the USPS began free rural mail delivery. As a result, the government built more roads and the new Sears and Montgomery catalogues were widely distributed on mail runs to homes. People enjoyed seeing a wider range of products that were sometimes cheaper than the general store. And so they began to prefer mail ordering and relied less on the local general store.
As the 20th Century opened, Henry Ford began making affordable cars making it possible for more and more people to drive places. Soon, people were driving to the smaller towns where there were more shops and better prices and choices. By 1930, the Supermarket arrived and changed grocery shopping forever. Sadly, the general stores could not compete and began to close down. Only the stores in the very rural areas were able to stay open until the 1950s,
Today, those general stores that are still open have made it because they diversified and were able to broaden their customer base by catalogue sales and changing the things that they sold. The most broadly known general store that is still open is the Vermont Country Store. Many of you, like me, probably get their catalogues from time to time. The Vermont Country store opened in 1897 by the Orton family who still owns it today. If you have never seen or heard of it before, you can go online and visit. I totally enjoy getting their catalogues because they still offer items not found in most stores today. Back in 1992, on a family vacation, we visited this iconic store and it is amazing and full to the brim of all sorts of goods! I wish we still had a store like that here. In our local historic museum, there is a replica of a portion of the Dorsey General store that was here in Gainesville in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Gainesville was started as a railroad town for shipping lumber and other goods to the Jacksonville port where it was loaded on to ships.
What can you share about the old General Store? Did you grow up with one in your area? Is it still open? Did your family own a store that was passed down to younger generations? Let's share our stories and details that you know about regarding this American treasure and important service in every state!
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Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
Edited by - Red Tractor Girl on May 02 2020 1:10:45 PM |
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StitchinWitch
True Blue Farmgirl
1171 Posts
Judith
Galt
CA
USA
1171 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2020 : 1:48:31 PM
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| My favorite was the hardware store where I used to live. It had everything. If you needed it, they had it. One time the handle on my frying pan broke and I got a great new 12 inch cast iron fry pan at the hardware store. It wasn't a big place and was crowded with narrow aisles and stacked to the rafters but they had it all. At the time (1970s) it was a little rural town and 20 miles to the next nearest town but now it has grown and there is Lowes, Home Depot, and Ace and my old hardware store is gone but I still have the frying pan. |
Judith
7932
Happiness is Homemade |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2020 : 1:55:02 PM
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Oh winnie, love this! I grew up in a country store that opened in the late 1930's until the late 1980's.the 1960's was my time there as a child. I'll be back to add a little story and some pictures.
Connie |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 02 2020 : 3:18:57 PM
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My great grandfather owned a general store and livery stable. He must have done quite well, because he accumulated 1600 acres of land. He divided up a portion of that land and have it to his ten children.
My grandma was his first born child, and only daughter. Of course he died long before I was born.
There was a country store four miles from grandma's house. As a little kid I looked forward to getting ice cream on a stick there twice during our summer visits to grandma's house. We stayed two weeks. Grandpa would drive us there to take the butter and eggs, get flour, etc that grandma needed. We rode in the back of his old pickup truck, sitting on our bottoms so as not to fall out. I remember being amazed at all of the little receipt books they had. Grandma had one for her purchases and one for the credit she got for the butter and eggs she took to the store. Grandpa had his name on a little book too. They were about 3" x 5" and the pages were rolled over at the top of the little book. Everyone wrote with a pencil back then. So everyone had credit...not plastic credit cards...country credit. Everyone paid their bill when they ould.
Fast forward 30 years, and we moved to the boonies...20 miles from town...but Callie Rose had a country store, complete with a screen door. It was our place to stop for gas. She had little books too! Wow, now I was 30, not five but I was impressed. She had a minimum of supplies, lots of candy, soft drinks, bread and one of those old round glass cold cases where the lunch meat and cheese was kept. Then I learned why...she fed the men of the community throughout the day. Most all of the men were farmers, ranchers and dairymen. They would stop, and ask for a sandwich to be made while they pumped their gas.Then they would be happily on their way.I
Callie Rose is the one who told me not to ever say a negative comment about anyone in the community---because everyone out there was related...except us.
I remember every old store had a bread sign that was metal, that was placed on the big screen door. I think it was placed there so people did not accidentally poke holes in the screen.I remember the sound of the screen as it swept us inside as the screen door closed. The store owners always had a trusty fly swatter close by, to swat those pesky flies who got in when the door opened. This was back in the day before A/C. No one had A/C...not homes or cars or churches or businesses. At least not in the parts of Texas where we lived. Oh, and Do you remember that fly swatter were not plastic...they were made of screen wire with bias tape stitched around the edge, and the wife that went around the screen wire also formed the handle. I don't think plastic was invented either. The first time I ever saw something made of plastic, I was probably 12, and went to a Tupperware party with my mother.
When I was 13 we traveled to visit my uncle and aunt in North Texas. I remember when my daddy stopped at the old country store...it had a bread sign too. This excited kid pointed it out! My daddy needed some gas in our car. So he stopped by the tanks...they were still using those with the glass tops. I remember the gas was orangie red. Daddy did not pump his own has like we must do now. He sat in the driver's seat, pulled the thing to open the hood, so the man could check the fluids. Then The mirror and each window was cleaned. When all of those things were ta!enjoy care of, he topped off the gas tank, put the nozzle away and appeared at the driver's window to tell my daddy how much money he needed. |
Texasgran |
Edited by - TexasGran on May 02 2020 3:40:05 PM |
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quiltee
True Blue Farmgirl
4642 Posts
Linda
Terrell
TX
USA
4642 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2020 : 06:51:57 AM
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| The original owners of my farmhouse has an old country store on the front corner of the property. It was long gone when I bought 10 years ago, but there were a few remnants - a pile of broken bottles. |
Linda B
quiltee
Farmgirl #1919
FGOTM for August, 2015 and April, 2017
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3457 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3457 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2020 : 12:33:00 PM
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These are fantastic comments from everyone!! Thank-you ! Many of the details expressed here remind me of the few places I went to as a kid that were little country stores, just not as expansive in what they carried.
Judith, I too am a devotee of hardware stores! We have a small Ace Hardware close to us and I shop there all the time. Everyone is helpful, and I love the smell of a good hardware store. Of course you can find more things at Home Depot and Lowes, but the ambiance is not the same. Ace also has very competitive prices with those large stores, but they also have space for these oddities like Grandma's lye soap, Dr.Bonner's soaps, Mrs.Meyer's household cleaning products and other things I love to shop for. Plus, they always have a complete selection of all sizes of canning jars and all the accessories one might need. I have started using the really big Ball jars for storing thing like rice, beans, sugar etc. down here in Florida those little black bugs seem to not be as prevalent in glass containers.
Linda, too bad that the old country store on your old Farmhouse property had nothing left but a pile of broken bottles. I wonder what it was like and how long it was a destination for folk in that area. |
Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2020 : 3:54:56 PM
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When I arrived in this little college town of 5,000 folks, at the age of 17, there was a tiny grocery store just out each campus gate, or entrance. My room mate and I were the only girls left in the dorms on the weekend all other 298 girls were gone home! So when my birthday rolled around in early October, we went shopping. One little store sold us three eggs. Another sold us one stick of butter. Then from the other store we bought a cake mix. We were on a mission to bake me a birthday cake, in the very clean but antiquated form kitchen. Signs were abundant about cleaning up, and since the aroma of cake baking filled the whole place our dorm mother came to check on us. So we sat down and the three of us ate chocolate cake and a slice of butter melted on top.
After I married I discovered another little grocery store just a few blocks from campus. They had the neatest old grocery carts. Two wire baskets with handles set on the two shelves of the metal framework with rollers. The owner would roll the cart out to the customers car, place the items in the box or boxes you brought for your groceries to ride home in. He only had a drive way wide enough for two cars to park. Most ladies walked over there, because it was in a neighborhood of homes. |
Texasgran |
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Bonnie Ellis
True Blue Farmgirl
859 Posts
Bonnie
Minneapolis
Minnesota
USA
859 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2020 : 5:47:51 PM
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| love your stories girls. Growing up we had a tiny store not far from us. I went there a lot but mom did not. Years later when my uncle came to visit,he bought steaks from that little store. They were the best ever. My mom couldn't believe she hadn't shopped there before. |
grandmother and orphan farmgirl |
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StitchinWitch
True Blue Farmgirl
1171 Posts
Judith
Galt
CA
USA
1171 Posts |
Posted - May 03 2020 : 9:39:16 PM
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| Marilyn -- that was the kind of baskets and cart we had at the little grocery store my mother shopped at when I was small. Mr Hopkins grocery store. There was also a hole in the counter with string coming out of it for wrapping things. It had the old oiled wood floors that were kind of creaky in places. That store had real character, unlike modern supermarkets. |
Judith
7932
Happiness is Homemade |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2020 : 1:28:42 PM
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Oh Judith, I had forgotten about the creaky old oiled floors!
This store was named Perkin's grocery.
My uncle and another man had a grocery store on the corner of the square in their small town. I shopped there one day as a young mother. It had very high ceilings with long pipes coming down. Some had lights and others had big old fans on them. I was in awe. It was not a tiny store...but had those creaky old wood floors. Then the new Super market came to town. Eventually they closed it up. They were old men by then. |
Texasgran |
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quiltee
True Blue Farmgirl
4642 Posts
Linda
Terrell
TX
USA
4642 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2020 : 4:10:26 PM
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| LOL! The farmhouse I am selling has those creaky wood floors - especially now that the house is very sparsely furnished. |
Linda B
quiltee
Farmgirl #1919
FGOTM for August, 2015 and April, 2017
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9219 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9219 Posts |
Posted - May 04 2020 : 4:22:55 PM
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We used to have a little general store when we moved here years ago. JT used to go in and get a hamburger. The lady there had a griddle top stove. The only thing they served were burgers and soda pop. They had a little bit of everything in there. The building is still there. I pass it every time I go to the P.O. It is so greyed and sad looking now. I don't know what happened if the owners passed or what but in all this time nothing has ever been done with the building.
I remember when I was a kid, I would go fishing with my dad and we would always stop at a little general store nearby and we would get a soda and he usually let me get a little bag of sweets. He would buy tobacco there and they had all kinds of stuff. Just loved looking at all the different things. It was so fascinating. |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 05 2020 : 12:59:44 AM
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Almost thirty years ago we went with our friends to take a milk tank to Springfield Missouri to be fixed. It rained most of the way and it was late when we got there so we got a motel for the rest of the night.
Next morning after breakfast and delivering the milk tank, we began to drive South into Arkansas. I was the driver! I loved it, because I could go slow...there was so much to see. A tiny hamlet or village appeared every five miles or less. They were not really towns, but we saw some old weathered wooden barns, and country stores. I remember stopping to look at one, we did not get out but crept by. It had feed for sale and sitting on the old wooden porch or loading dock were several men and some kids. All were swinging their dangling legs as they enjoyed a soda pop in a glass bottle. I love that memory! |
Texasgran |
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quiltee
True Blue Farmgirl
4642 Posts
Linda
Terrell
TX
USA
4642 Posts |
Posted - May 06 2020 : 8:08:30 PM
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| That's a great memory, Marilyn. I love reading all these country store stories. |
Linda B
quiltee
Farmgirl #1919
FGOTM for August, 2015 and April, 2017
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9219 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9219 Posts |
Posted - May 07 2020 : 08:17:36 AM
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What a wonderful memory Marilyn.
I don't believe the little general store where dad and I would stop is still there.
In my grandmother's journal she wrote about going to the store to get potatoes and things. When we took my dad to NY he showed us the house they used to live in and it was across the street from that general store grandma wrote about. She would write down how much it costs for everything she bought. The building is still there but I don't know if it is still running or not. It was owned by two brothers and one of them owned the house I was born and raised in. It was actually the back half of a house they bought together. They bought it and moved it off of a site that now has a Navy training school on it. The front half was lived in by a friend I went to school with but I never have seen it. I always thought it was so weird that they divided the house. Apparently these brothers owned quite a lot of the properties in my little hometown. I have a receipt for the first payment dad made on the house. Sorry I got off topic there. |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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debbieklann
True Blue Farmgirl
2642 Posts
Debbie
Madras
OR
USA
2642 Posts |
Posted - May 07 2020 : 09:04:12 AM
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I went into the coolest store when I was visiting with my cousin in Louisiana a couple of years ago. It was an old general store that was enormous....it was 2 stories and it had ANYTHING you could need or want. We spent a lot of time in there just looking, looking. If I lived nearby, that would be a place I would just go and wander around for hours.
We still have a little store about an hour and a half from here, out on the desert. It was actually a stage stop between 2 towns. The stops were about 45 minutes apart. Until recently, 2 older sisters ran it. The post office is tucked into a corner and there is a little restaurant inside. You can get drinks and snacks and locals put up their artwork, public notices, etc. There are gas pumps outside but I'm not sure if they are still operational. I remember going across the desert with my grandparents and stopping there for lunch with them.
There is a one room school house right across the road from the store. It was open for years and then shut down for awhile but up and running again. Kids from neighboring ranches go there, much closer than sending them into the bigger town, over an hour away on the bus. |
Debbie Klann
Farmgirl Sister #770
2018 Farmgirl Sister of the Year
January 2020 FGOTM
"Well behaved women seldom make history"...
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 08 2020 : 04:33:02 AM
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Debbie, right before Hadlee was born my son and husband drove to South Dakota to see some horses. The family had 7 kids. The mom home schooled her brood. They only got mail delivery three times a week, because they were so far out of the way. They lived on or surrounded by a reservation.
My son was impressed when the girls offered them a sandwich and a big glass of tea. He said it was a huge, delicious sandwich. He was starving too by the time they got there. I enjoy the catalogue they send out each year when their spring sale is about to happen. They give an update , complete with photos, of the whole family. Of course by now there are grand babies. I never met them...but just like my farm girl sisters I feel like I know them because of the stories my son and husband tell. |
Texasgran |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - May 08 2020 : 2:47:51 PM
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I loved reading all y'alls stories about the old stores. The one I grew up in had those old plank floors too!
Connie |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3457 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3457 Posts |
Posted - May 09 2020 : 12:09:27 PM
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| These stories and details have been great! I wish I could find an old store that was still open and had these old familiar traits to enjoy once again. The thing about progress and urban development is that all the big box stores like Target and Walmart make it impossible for these smaller old country stores to stay afloat. People don't want the old ways anymore. And while I get and understand the impracticality of something like the old country store, I believe some valuable social aspects are lost too. It is rare to go to a store where they know you by name, know your family, and care about you. And do we need 200 kinds of cereals on the shelf to meet our needs? Or 200+ kinds of crackers or chips to choose from? In some ways, there is just too much to try and sort through, and in other ways, we find a new whatever that becomes a true favorite. However, I find now in my later years that I am not interested in more and more. There is something to be said for the value of basic supplies and the old adage less is best. I think MaryJane's magazine has been a true gift to help me sort out how to live better through real food, preserving those important parts of the past, and sorting out the best ways to keep grounded in our break neck speed life of the 21st. Century. The old country store is a reminder to me of both what we lost and what we still have from the past that remains priceless. MaryJanesFarm has helped me find some of the priceless that has always been right there in front of me. The noise of the 21st Century is loud and distracting to me, but reaching back for those things that still make sense has added so much back to my life. And You? |
Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 09 2020 : 2:51:14 PM
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I agree! Several years ago we went to Ft. Worth and wound up in a popular store full of beautiful things. Had almost immediately became sick! Just looking at her I knew. She was about to throw up...all because of the amount of stuff. So we took her out of there. She was overwhelmed. Some months later they opened a small craft store in a nearby town and I decided to try again. That time she took a buggy and began to select her merchandice...until I asked her when she became so wealthy. Needless to say we put lots of things back in their place.
I am so grateful and thankful that we can finally go shopping and she can say, " this is cute...but do I need it? Or do I want to part with that many of my $$$.? "
I'm also happy that she is trying to save money for her college costs. In fact she has been able to put some extra funds into her college account this week due to tips.
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Texasgran |
Edited by - TexasGran on May 09 2020 3:02:35 PM |
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9219 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9219 Posts |
Posted - May 14 2020 : 03:26:16 AM
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Winnie,
One trip we made to Ohio shortly habe our daughter married, JT and I took the southern route to come back and on that route we hit some side roads in W. Va. We found a little country store. I was all weatheredad grey and when we went in it was like stepping back in time. There were wide plank floors and all manner of things. We were there quite awhile just looking. I remember buying a few things. We could have stayed all day but time didn't allow for that. I've always wanted to go there again but we have no idea how to get back there. |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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debbieklann
True Blue Farmgirl
2642 Posts
Debbie
Madras
OR
USA
2642 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2020 : 09:31:44 AM
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Well said, Winnie!
The older I get, the less "noise" I like. Going to a big store like Costco or Walmart is not my idea of a good time. And it's not just the amount of people in them...it's just "noisy"....you feel bombarded all around you with STUFF that they are trying to get you to buy. I think that the "less is more" and "simple is better" mottos are really freeing. |
Debbie Klann
Farmgirl Sister #770
2018 Farmgirl Sister of the Year
January 2020 FGOTM
"Well behaved women seldom make history"...
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2020 : 4:42:06 PM
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| Debbie...im the same way. I fact I find myself wishing we could live simply, much like my grandma did. The only thing is I don't enjoy being cold in winter and hot in summer... |
Texasgran |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 18 2020 : 4:44:03 PM
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| How many of you remember Granny Beads? I remember them well even on my little son. |
Texasgran |
Edited by - TexasGran on May 19 2020 09:48:08 AM |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3457 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3457 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2020 : 05:35:44 AM
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Denise, I know how frustrating it is to try and retrace steps to find something that happened by chance. The old store just might be there just because the family can eeek out enough money to keep it going . Usually those places end when the older generation, who owned and ran it, are no longer able. Younger family members will want something that has viability and can support a family. Like I said before, the big box stores make it virtually impossible to succeed.
Marilyn, what are Granny Beads? And what are the numbers you list at the end of your response mean? This is all new to me. |
Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - May 19 2020 : 09:54:48 AM
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Winnie granny beads are rings of dirt that collect around the neck of children who play outside in the dirt in the hot summer. Young children usually have a bit of chubby going on and they tend to collect granny beads. The sweat and oil sometimes cause the dirt to separate and I suppose that is why they appear to resemble beads. Of course a chubby toddler can also collect some in the crevices on their arms and legs.
I removed the numbers. I did not add them. Another tablet mystery. |
Texasgran |
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Project Discussions: May Learning Together: The Old Country Store |
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May Learning Together: The Old Country Store
