Editing General store (section)

===United States===
[[File:Group of men standing in front of Karch & Heberer store at Fairplay in the late 1800s - DPLA - 450f67cd5cf1861d1c246320ca2ee32a (cropped).jpg|alt=Karch & Harper General Store in Fairplay, Colorado, late 1800s|thumb|350px|left|Karch & Heberer General Store in [[Fairplay, Colorado]], late 1800s]]
[[File:Drawing of a country store by Marguerite Martyn.jpg|thumb|350px|left|Fanciful drawing by [[Marguerite Martyn]] in the ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' of October 21, 1906, headed "Passing of the Country Store in the [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]]"]]

{{Further| Rural American history #Southern country store}}
General stores and itinerant peddlers dominated in rural America until the coming of the automobile after 1910.  Farmers and ranchers depended on general stores that had a limited stock and slow turnover; they made enough profit to stay in operation by selling at high prices. Often farmers would barter butter, cheese, eggs, vegetables or other foods which the merchant would resell. Prices were not marked on each item; instead the customer negotiated a price. Men did most of the shopping, since the main criterion was credit rather than quality of goods. Indeed, most customers shopped on credit, paying later when crops or cattle were sold; the owner's ability to judge credit worthiness was vital to his success. The store was often a gathering point for local men to chat, pass around the weekly newspaper, and talk politics.<ref>Lewis E. Atherton, ''The Frontier Merchant in Mid-America'' (University of Missouri Press, 1971).</ref>

In the South, the general store was especially important after the Civil War, as the merchant was one of the few sources of credit available until the cash crops (usually cotton or tobacco) came in.  By 1878, for example, there were 1,468 local merchants in Alabama, or 12 for every 10,000 people.<ref>Louis Kyriakoudes, "The Rise of Merchants and Market Towns in Reconstruction-Era Alabama." ''Alabama Review'' 49 (1996): 83-107. p.99 </ref>  There were few towns and very few cities, so rural general stores and itinerant peddlers were the main sources of supply.<ref> The best source is Thomas C. Clark, ''Pills Petticoats and Plows: The Southern Country Store'' (1944) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.156316/page/n1/mode/1up online]; also see [https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-economic-history/article/abs/merchandising-pills-petticoats-and-plows-the-southern-country-store-by-thomas-d-clark-indianapolis-the-bobbsmerrill-company-pp-359-350/4CBFE2182121FCCC0C76036766024DCC online review of this book].</ref><ref>Jacqueline P. Bull, "The General Merchant in the Economic History of the New South." ''Journal of Southern History'' 18.1 (1952): 37-59. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2954791 in JSTOR]</ref><ref>Glenn N. Sisk, "Rural Merchandising in the Alabama Black Belt, 1875–1917." ''Journal of Farm Economics'' 37.4 (1955): 705-715.</ref><ref>Roger Ransom, and Richard Sutch. "Credit merchandising in the post-emancipation south: Structure, conduct, and performance." ''Explorations in Economic History'' 16.1 (1979): 64-89; heavily statistical [http://www.colorado.edu/ibs/EB/alston/econ8534/SectionV/Ransom_and_Sutch,_Credit_Merchandising_in_the_Post-Emancipation_South.pdf online] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230827/http://www.colorado.edu/ibs/EB/alston/econ8534/SectionV/Ransom_and_Sutch,_Credit_Merchandising_in_the_Post-Emancipation_South.pdf|date=2015-09-23}}</ref>

During the first half of the 20th century, general stores were displaced in many areas of the United States by many different types of specialized retailers in trading towns and small cities. However, from the 1960s to the present, many small specialized retailers have in turn been crushed by the so-called "[[category killer]]s", which are "big-box" [[wholesale]]-type retailers large enough to carry the majority of best-selling goods in a specific category, like sporting goods or office supplies. [[Gray's General Store]] of Adamsville, Rhode Island is reputed to be the oldest continually operating general store in the United States until its temporary closure in 2012.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|date=July 31, 2012|title=Rhode Island general store closes after 224 years of operation|url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/rhode-island-general-store-closes-after-224-years-of-operation/1243307/|access-date=2021-05-18|website=Tampa Bay Times|publisher=Associated Press|language=en}}</ref> It subsequently reopened in the summer of 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gray's General Store in Adamsville re-opens|url=https://www.eastbayri.com/stories/grays-general-store-in-adamsville-re-opens,6188|access-date=2022-12-14|website=EastBayRI.com|date=17 July 2013|language=en}}</ref>

However, the convenience inherent in the general store has been revived in the form of the modern [[convenience store]]. A few [[variety store]]s draw upon the concept of having a broad variety of goods servicing small communities where big-box retailers are absent; [[Dollar General]] stores, in particular, draws its name from both the "dollar store" concept of having items at a fixed price point and the general store.

====List of general stores====
This is a select list of historical general stores in the United States, listed in alphabetical order.
{{Columns-list|
* [[A. D. Strickland Store]] (c.1878–1972), [[Dalton, Georgia|Dalton]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=A. D. Strickland Store|url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/05000405|website=NPGallery Digital Asset Management System, [[National Park Service]], [[U.S. Department of the Interior]]}}</ref>
*[[Barker General Store]] (c. 1847–?), [[Edinburg, New York|Beecher Hollow]], [[Saratoga County, New York|Saratoga County]], [[New York (state)|New York]]<ref name="nrhpinv_ny">{{cite web|author=Raymond W. Smith|date=January 2002|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Barker General Store|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7817|publisher=[[New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation]]|accessdate=2010-12-12|archive-date=2012-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017204635/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7817|url-status=dead}} ''See also:'' {{cite web|title=Accompanying seven photos|url=http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7824|access-date=2021-05-18|archive-date=2012-10-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017204654/http://www.oprhp.state.ny.us/hpimaging/hp_view.asp?GroupView=7824|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Etienne J. Caire|E. J. Caire Store]] (1860–mid-1970s), [[Edgard, Louisiana|Edgard]], [[Louisiana]]
* [[Felt Cobblestone General Store]] (1835–?), [[Victor, New York|Victor]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
* [[F. H. Gillingham & Sons]] (1886–Present), [[Woodstock, Vermont]]
* [[Good Hart General Store]] (1934-Present), [[Good Hart, Michigan]]
* [[Gray's General Store]] (1788–2012), [[Adamsville, Rhode Island]]<ref name=":1" />
* [[Harkin's General Store]] (1867–1901), [[West Newton, Minnesota|West Newton]], [[Minnesota]]
* [[Hussey's General Store]] (1923–1954), [[Windsor, Maine|Windsor]], [[Maine]]
* [[Jones Store]], [[Sierra National Forest]], [[California]]
* [[Jorgensen's General Store]], [[Grant-Valkaria, Florida|Grant-Valkaria]], [[Florida]]
* [[Lost River General Store]] (1898–?), [[Lost River, West Virginia|Lost River]], [[Hardy County, West Virginia]]
* [[Manion's General Store]] (before 1908–1970s), [[Liberty (town), New York|Ferndale]], [[Sullivan County, New York]]
* [[Mast General Store]] (1887–?), [[Valle Crucis, North Carolina]]
* [[McClellan's General Store]], [[New London, Iowa]]
* [[Mikulich General Store]], [[Traunik, Michigan]]
* [[Ruddell General Store]], [[Glenville, West Virginia]]
* [[Simons General Store]], [[Ancram, New York]]
* [[Saint James General Store]], [[Saint James, New York]]
* [[Tioga Centre General Store]], [[Tioga, New York]]
* [[Vorous General Store]], [[Fish Creek, Wisconsin]]
* [[Welty's General Store]], [[Dubois, Wyoming]]
}}
<gallery class="center" mode="packed" widths="124" heights="124" caption="United States general stores">
File:Oldwick General Store.JPG|The Oldwick General Store in [[Tewksbury Township, New Jersey]]
File:Grays General Store in Little Compton Rhode Island.jpg|The [[Grays General Store]] (1788) in [[Adamsville, Rhode Island]]
File:General store, Deaf Smith County Museum, Hereford, TX IMG 4858.JPG|General store exhibit at the Deaf Smith County Historical Museum in [[Hereford, Texas|Hereford]], [[Texas]]
File:Country Store- interior, Ewen Avenue, Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx (NYPL b13668355-482797).jpg|Country Store, [[Spuyten Duyvil, Bronx]], early 20th century 
</gallery>