6. Mercantile

The general store was the Walmart of its day. It had a large variety of items including food, hardware, housewares, furniture, medicine, cloths, buggy whips and much more.

The post office was generally was located in the General Store with the proprietor serving as postmaster and sometimes, the town clerk, Justice of the Peace, or even an undertaker.

The country store served other roles, including the social center of the community, as an “exchange bank”, community message center, and political club and forum for men in the community.

In the rear is the dentist’s office,  Prohibition was going on but there was a loophole. Doctors could prescribe whiskey as a pain killer. To the left of the 1890 dentist chair is a stack of original prescriptions .