A Country Store Unveils A Community’s Daily Life

In Spring of 2017 the owners of the country store at Little Plymouth offered the Museum Council an opportunity to look for artifacts as part of cleaning out the store prior to its sale. As Council member Linda Barnes put it, “In early June, 2017 a ‘clean-out-crew’ of Council members arrived at the store to begin the treasure hunt. The store’s large front windows were boarded up, making the interior of the store very dim. The crew entered armed with flashlights, masks, and gloves. Over the next several hours, the air was filled with clouds of dust and the exclamations of the crew: ‘Ahh!’, ‘Ohhh’, ‘What IS that?’, ‘Look at THIS!’ as the crew moved methodically through the store.” Its history and that of the local community was revealed as records and articles available for purchase revealed much about everyday life during the period the store and postoffice within it existed. Linda Barnes further commented, “There is still a lot of research to be done relating to the history of Little Plymouth store and Post Office, but from what is known at this time, it is evident that the Little Plymouth store was at the center of the community. (The Museum Council is still processing the artifacts and placing all that are relevant in the Museum’s Archives.) The Museum is grateful to the current owners for the opportunity to save a part of the county’s history.” For the entire article “Visiting the Past: Little Plymouth General Store” written by Linda Barnes and Susan Richardson detailing much more about the finds, access the 2017 Fall edition of Tales From The Tavern.