The Country Store

From 1865-1930, no institution influenced the South's economy, politics and the daily life of its people more than the country store. Hundreds, maybe thousands, were scattered throughout the region. The merchant, or store owner, rose to power after the Civil War. Many merchants accumulated great wealth, but there were risks involved in being the sole provider of necessary goods in an isolated community.

The lien laws, which allowed cotton to serve as currency so that items could be bought on credit, sometimes conflicted with the merchant's financial obligations to their suppliers. There were losses due to weather, depression, crop failure or overextended credit. The southern country store was also the primary community organizer and builder. Towns and villages emerged around the country store and sometimes took the name of the local shopkeeper.

The country store was a strong force in the South because of geographic isolation, the dominance of cotton in the economy, and the biracial structure of the society. The two racially separate worlds were ripe for trade and both blacks and whites patronized the same store. Stores stocked a huge variety of items: clothes for men and women, tobacco, candy for children, axle grease, lard, kerosene, machinery tools, feed, fertilizers, seed, general hardware, coffins, and sometimes they provided the only telephone in the community.