The Last Great General Stores

You hear it before you see it... the jingle of a doorbell that’s been hanging there for fifty years. The wood screen door creaks as you step inside. The air smells faintly of fresh coffee, pipe tobacco, and cedar. Somewhere to your left, an ancient Coca-Cola cooler hums beside a rack of fishing lures. A local farmer is picking up a bag of feed while a kid buys a single piece of penny candy with a nickel.

Welcome to the American general store.

Once upon a time, they were the beating heart of every small town in the United States. Before strip malls and big-box chains, the general store was the place everything happened. Half grocery, half hardware store, part post office, part community center. You didn’t just shop there; you swapped stories, learned the local news, and maybe left with a bag of nails and a loaf of bread in the same sack.

Today, most are gone, swallowed up by convenience stores and online shopping. But a few stubborn holdouts remain... living monuments to an era when you could buy a pound of flour, a hand-knit scarf, and a lantern wick without leaving Main Street.

Here are ten of the last, greatest general stores keeping the tradition alive.

1. Wilson Store – Arlington, Vermont 🪵

Established in 1812, the Wilson Store has been in continuous operation for over two centuries. The original plank floors still creak, and the shelves bow slightly under the weight of goods. Everything from maple syrup tapped just down the road, to hand-forged tools from a smithy a few blocks away.

Locals drop by not just to shop, but to chat with the Wilson family, who’ve run the place for five generations. In winter, a cast-iron stove crackles in the corner, drawing customers in from the snow for coffee poured from a dented steel pot.

Specialty: Locally made maple sugar candy and handmade wool socks.

2. Burritt’s General Store – Dorset, Vermont 🛠️

Burritt’s is a place where you can buy a gallon of paint, a fishing pole, and a slice of homemade pie all in one visit. Built in the 19th century, it still serves as the unofficial hub of Dorset.

The counter holds a battered ledger where regulars have running tabs. A throwback to the days when credit was given based on a handshake. The aisles are narrow, the ceiling low, and the smell of fresh-baked bread drifts in from the kitchen in back.

Specialty: Hardware in the front, baked goods in the back and both done right.

3. Adams General Store – Charlotte, Vermont 🍯

Operating since 1794, Adams General Store is one of the oldest in the country. It’s a cozy spot with a working post office tucked in the corner and a single wood stove heating the room in winter.

The walls are lined with shelves stacked high with mason jars of honey, bags of flour, and bolts of fabric. Locals still meet here to pick up their mail, grab a cup of coffee, and catch up on town news.

Specialty: Honey harvested from hives just a mile away, sold in old-fashioned glass jars.

4. Old Country Store – Moultonborough, New Hampshire 🪵

Founded in 1781, this is widely considered America’s oldest general store. Step inside and you’re in a living museum: hand-labeled drawers full of nails, barrels of molasses, a penny candy counter, and a player piano that occasionally bursts to life.

Tourists love it, but it’s still a real store; locals come for essentials, from hardware to cheese wheels. The original wooden sign still hangs proudly above the door, the paint worn but legible.

Specialty: Penny candy by the scoop, sold exactly the way it was two centuries ago.

5. The Warren Store – Warren, Vermont 🥪

Half country store, half gourmet deli, The Warren Store is the kind of place where you can grab an artisan sandwich and a jar of pickled beets in the same stop.

It sits in a clapboard building overlooking a babbling brook, with a porch perfect for lingering in summer. The upstairs is packed with quirky gifts, from hand-knit mittens to Vermont-made hot sauce.

Specialty: The “Mad River” sandwich... roasted turkey, sharp cheddar, and cranberry chutney on fresh-baked bread. You're welcome...

6. Wall Drug – Wall, South Dakota 🐫

Part general store, part roadside attraction, Wall Drug started in 1931 as a simple pharmacy. Today, it’s a sprawling maze of shops selling cowboy boots, rock candy, and genuine turquoise jewelry.

It’s touristy, sure, but it’s also a throwback to the general store model. You can still get a pair of work gloves, a new belt, and a cup of coffee for five cents.

Specialty: Free ice water... a tradition dating back to the Dust Bowl days.

7. Mooresville Mercantile – Mooresville, Alabama 🧵

Founded in the 1840s, the Mooresville Mercantile has been supplying this tiny Alabama town for generations. Inside, the counters are worn smooth from decades of elbows, and the shelves hold everything from quilting fabric to canned peaches.

It’s still a community hub; weddings, baby announcements, and hunting stories are traded here daily.

Specialty: Hand-stitched quilts and homemade preserves.

8. Soda Springs General Store – Soda Springs, Idaho 🥤

Originally a frontier trading post, this store still features its original soda fountain. Complete with swivel stools and milkshakes served in tall, frosty glasses.

Farmers stop in for feed and supplies, while travelers passing through can grab an ice cream cone and browse the shelves for locally made jams.

Specialty: Classic cherry phosphates mixed right at the fountain.

9. Anderson & Sons – Maine Coast 🐟

This seaside store has been family-owned since the late 1800s. It serves both lobster fishermen and tourists, stocking rain gear, tackle, fresh bait, and a cooler full of sodas.

The floorboards are worn from decades of boots and waders, and the salty air seems permanently baked into the wood.

Specialty: Saltwater taffy made fresh on-site... perfect for eating on the dock and watching the local sea life.

10. Cades Cove Visitor Center Store – Tennessee 🪣

Inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cades Cove store carries both modern snacks and old-fashioned goods like enamel coffee pots, tin cups, and cast-iron pans.

Hikers and campers stop in for supplies, but it’s also a place where park rangers share stories of the pioneer families who once lived in the cove.

Specialty: Locally milled cornmeal, perfect for cornbread by the campfire.

Why They Matter

General stores are more than just retail spaces, they’re living pieces of history. They remind us of a time when shopping was personal, when your name was known, and when buying flour might also mean hearing the latest gossip about the Miller boy’s new tractor.

Each of these stores holds more than goods on their shelves. They hold the memory of an America where Main Street mattered, where you shook the owner’s hand and they’d tell you, “Just pay me next time.”

Closing Thoughts

The world moves fast now. We shop online, order groceries from our phones, and rarely speak to the people selling us things. But in these places, the pace slows. You push open that old screen door, and you’re part of something. A living tradition that hasn’t changed in over a century.

So if you ever pass through a small town and see a weathered sign that says “General Store,” stop in. Buy something. Chat with the owner. And know you’re keeping alive one of the last great institutions of American life.