From its founding as the final of the original thirteen colonies in 1733 to its current status as a state where custom and community endure, Georgia has a rich history that spans centuries. General stores became vital centers of daily life as tiny, rural communities grew.
General stores were first established in the early 1800s as one-stop shops for prospectors looking for gold or the people living in tiny communities.
Discovering these eight vintage general stores on the back roads is the ideal way to experience Georgia, which is home to many well-preserved general stores that serve as reminders of a simpler, slower way of life.
The Carter Store (Archery)
In 2021, the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park was created. Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, is honored in the park. The 71-acre park protects a number of important locations.
The Carter Store, the Plains Depot, where Jimmy Carter’s 1976 Presidential Campaign Headquarters were located, the Jimmy Carter Boyhood Home, and the Plains High School, where he graduated in 1941, all offer history buffs a window into the small-town values and life that shaped the U.S. president.
The Carter shop served as a general shop and community center in the 1930s, where local sharecroppers, laborers, and farmers went to get necessities, frequently on credit.
Inside, the shelves are arranged to reflect the usual things stocked at the time, and the park has preserved the historic general shop as it appeared in the past.
Old Sautee Store (Sautee Nacoochee)
Part of North Georgia’s past, the Old Sautee Store was a stop on the Unicoi Trail, a historic commercial route that connected the region to North Carolina and Tennessee. Originally constructed as a general store in 1872, it became a post office in 1893 and remained open until 1962.
Due in large part to Marvin’s interest in the history of general stores, Astrid and Mervin Fried bought the store in the middle of the 20th century and started turning it into a living museum.
He began gathering antiques, memorabilia, and historical treasures from closed general stores, transforming the Old Sautee Store’s front area into a contemporary immersive space that allows customers to travel back in time.
Locals and tourists may savor the nostalgia of the past while purchasing fresh bread, southern classic sandwiches, and imported Farmer Cheese from Norway at the Old Sautee Store, which is now a museum and market.
Sunrise Grocery (Blairsville)
Sunrise Grocery has been a mainstay in the North Georgia highlands since the early 1920s. In Union County, it is the oldest company.
When the Clemmons family visited the little general store in 1983 while on vacation from Florida, they inquired about the store’s sale from Mr. Comer Saxon, the owner at the time. It changed its name from a village store to a supermarket.
Vogel State Park, Georgia’s second-oldest state park, is only a short drive from Sunrise Grocery in Blairsville. The park is located in the Chattahoochee National Forest at the foot of Blood Mountain, the highest peak on the Appalachian Trail.
After restocking at the historic Sunrise Grocery, think about spending the night in one of the pet-friendly Sunrise River Cabins for a tranquil retreat.
Dahlonega General Store (Dahlonega)
Fans of vintage general shops will find a lot to explore at the Dahlonega General Store in Georgia’s friendliest small town.
The store honors the general stores that were formerly common in the southern Blue Ridge Mountains, meeting the requirements of prospectors during the Georgia Gold Rush after gold was discovered in Dahlonega in 1828, even if it is not a true 19th-century general store.
Books on Georgia ghost stories, the little town’s history of gold mining, vintage toys like marbles, and nostalgic hard candy are also available.
C.F. Hays and Son General Store (Musella)
About 20 miles west of Macon, in the tiny peach-packing hamlet of Musella, is the C.F. Hays and Son General Store, which opened its doors in 1900.
The local celebrity peach family, who operate Dickey Farms, the oldest peach packinghouse still in operation in the state, opened the store. C.F. Hays took over the store in 1934 and subsequently bought it from Dickey.
Cary Hays, the grandson of C.F. Hays, is currently in charge of the store, which has been handed down through the generations. Despite selling rural store essentials and counting up sales on an ancient cash register, the store is filled with relics from bygone eras.
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