The General Store was often the social center of a town. It was much more than just a place to buy your groceries and household supplies. Often times it was also a place where you could get all the latest news and information about what was happening in your community! The General Store was often one of the first stores to set up in a town -in some places it might be the only store in town! As a result, the storekeeper had to offer a wide variety of merchandise, ranging from groceries to hardware, just to make sure that they could provide anything their customer's might need. The storekeeper often used every square inch of space to display his wares. Horse collars, saddles, harnesses, snow shoes, traps and hunting supplies hung from the ceiling. Nails, screws, and hardware were displayed in kegs for customers to purchase in bulk. Axes, chains and tools lined the walls, books, tobacco, lamps and lamp parts filled the shelves along with brooms, mops, medicines for man and beast, coffee grinders, pots, pans, high button shoes, butter churns and other useful household items.

In addition to the merchandise they sold, many General Stores also doubled as the local post office. In towns that were too small to have their own full time postmaster, the storekeeper often took up the additional duty. The post office usually took up valuable space on the end of his store counter, where he had to sort incoming mail and post letters that were going out of town, but he didn't mind. People who had to come to his store to get their mail could often be persuaded to buy something while they were waiting on their letters!