. . . General stores in appearance were similar to each other.  Their exterior resembled a one or two level house with a door in the center and two windows on each side with steps leading up to a porch.  The shopkeeper and his family usually lived on the second floor.

. . . Stores offered an enormous variety of articles, including household items, hardware and farm equipment.  Customers found household staples such as coffee, tea, spices, molasses, grains, dairy products and locally grown produce.  Children delighted in the tempting jars of candy and long licorice whips kept by the front counter.

. . . The store itself consisted of a large room with a wide open area where a wood-burning stove and chairs or stools bade welcome to customers and passerby alike.

. . . Merchandise was displayed on shelves behind a great wooden counter where the shopkeeper could assist the customer and hand items.  The counter sometimes displayed goods to help customers decide on what to purchase.

  . . . In addition to providing needed merchandise, the general store also provided services not available elsewhere.  These might include serving as a tavern, issuing marriage licenses, offering a telephone, and, with the shopkeeper as the local postmaster, serving as a post office. 

. . . A pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a bag of nails and a coffin.  What else can I get for you today, Mrs. Jones?”  This shopping list might sound a bit strange, but general stores carried a bit of everything and made living in pioneer farming communities easier.

. . . The general store also was the place to go for news and gossip.  The friendly atmosphere of the general store made people feel like part of one big family where everybody knew everybody else in town.