This Perfectly Preserved General Store In South Carolina Is The Definition Of A Hidden Gem
A variety of small, niche museums can be found throughout South Carolina, including a museum dedicated to kazoos, another dedicated to thoroughbred horses trained in South Carolina, and even a museum featuring taxidermy. You can find out more about those (and more) in this previous article – after you discover the goodness found in this perfectly preserved general store museum.
A visit to this free museum is step back in time to the early 1900s when the actual general store opened on Main Street in Westminster.
Known to locals as England's General Store, it closed its doors to selling merchandise in the 1980s, and the owner began displaying the unsold items that had been collected over the decades the general store served the community.
The Oconee History Museum now operates the site and displays the many thousands of authentic items that all came straight from the inventory of the old store.
In the early 2000s, the merchandise and store's interior were purchased by a non-profit group and moved two blocks up the street to the current building - which was donated as well.
In the museum's new home, there is much more room to spread around the fascinating items. Each item provides a window into the past of this community as well as into the bygone era of old-fashioned mercantile stores.
Shown here is a photo of the inside of the original store museum, prior to the purchase of the items and display tables, cases ‐ and prior to the items being moved over to the new location. Over at the new Oconee General Store Museum, there is much more room to move around and to see all of the interesting items that include everything from elixir bottles, shoes and boots, tonics, vintage clothing, and so much more.
Oconee Heritage General Store Museum is located at 126 E Main St., Westminster, SC 29693. It’s open three days a week: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free – a $3 donation is standard. Learn more at this link on the official website for Oconee History Museum.
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Robin Jarvis is a travel writer and editor for OnlyInYourState.com with a bachelor's degree in Journalism. Her love for travel has taken her to many parts of the world. She's lived in the Carolinas for nearly three decades and currently resides in Charleston. When she's not working, she loves to cook with friends and check out new adventures. General questions and FAM tours: rjarvis@onlyinyourstate.com.
