Remembering the General Stores

Remembering the General Stores. . , During the mid to late nineteenth century, general stores were generally the first business establishments built in a town. As successors to the trading post which served the pioneers and early settlers, general stores were located at crossroads or in a village and served the surrounding community. They were gathering places for townspeople and farmers where they could buy items like hardware, food items in bulk, clothing items, and seed for planting, The main area of a general store was used to display retail merchandise, and store owners used every available nook and cranny to maximize storage. Shelves rose to the ceiling to organize the largest amount and variety of items, while excess or specialty items tended to be stacked on the floor, on counters, upturned boxes, barrels, bins, or situated on ceiling hooks. Items like coffee, tea, spices, rice, beans, flour, sugar, salt, cornmeal, crackers, molasses, kerosene, and others in bulk quantities were purchased by store owners, weighed on large scales, and measured into boxes, crockery containers and bags to sell in desired quantities to customers. Pre-packaged or canned items like peaches, sardines, and oysters were popular in general stores. Larger items such as farm equipment, tools, bathtubs, cook stoves, and sewing machines were special ordered for customers. Because money was scarce in many rural areas, some of the trade was accomplished through barter. Extending long-term credit was a common practice.