As of July, I began writing my next western novel. Since the opening scene is set in the town mercantile, I found it necessary to describe the store. However, it had been a lot of years since I watched Little House on the Prairie. I didn’t recall what the interior of Mr. Oleson’s Mercantile looked like, and I certainly didn’t recall a lot of the details of what a western mercantile might carry. It was perfect timing that we took our short vacation in St. Augustine when we did.
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| Outside of the Oldest Store Museum © Jennifer Uhlarik |
The museum was a fun one, set up like Mr. Hamblen’s store would have looked in the early 1900’s. My story is set in 1873, so some of the featured items displayed in the museum were too “new-fangled” for my purposes, but in general, I still got an excellent idea of how such a mercantile would have looked.
We were met on the mercantile’s porch by a store clerk who offered to give us a tour. Had she been unavailable at that time, there were several rocking chairs on the porch where we could have waited, or where we could catch up on the town gossip fresh from the proprietor after our shopping was done. Since the clerk was ready, she told us a little about Mr. Hamblen and the history of how he opened up shop in the 1870’s, then showed us inside.
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| Selection of gingham and calico fabrics and sewing notions. © Jennifer Uhlarik |
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| Mercantile counter and shelves, including stick candy in jars, old cash register, and the Edison cylinder music player (far left). © Jennifer Uhlarik |
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| Patent medicines and elixers in a glass case. © Jennifer Uhlarik |
The clerk explained that they were the largest store in Florida, and if they didn’t have something in stock, they could order it. If they couldn’t order it, we must not need it. She then proceeded to show us several modern gadgets to outfit our homes. A cream separator, a milkshake maker, a cork sizer, and an Edison cylinder music player, among other things—all of which could be ordered and would arrive in “just two weeks time.” We were given demonstrations of some of the merchandise. That silver-tongued clerk talked us into ordering several of the items on display (including the latest styles of women’s shoes—two pair of each color).
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| Store counter displaying cream separator (bottom left), women's shoes (center), hats and unmentionables (in countertop glass case), and men's shirt collars (above the shoes). © Jennifer Uhlarik |
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| Bicycle inside the warehouse portion. © Jennifer Uhlarik |
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| Selection of firearms and hunting traps. © Jennifer Uhlarik |
Overall, the museum was amusing and educational, and it certainly was a real help to me in getting a feel for what a mercantile would have looked like back in the day. I hope you enjoyed learning about it.
It’s your turn. What historical tours or sites have you seen that you most enjoyed?
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Jennifer Uhlarik discovered the western genre as a pre-teen, when she swiped the only “horse” book she found on her older brother’s bookshelf. A new love was born. Across the next ten years, she devoured Louis L’Amour westerns and fell in love with the genre. In college at the University of Tampa, she began penning her own story of the Old West. Armed with a B.A. in writing, she has won the 2012 CWOW Phoenix Rattler, 2012 ACFW First Impressions, and 2013 FCWC contests, all in the historical category. She is also the winner of the 2013 Central Florida ACFW chapter's "Prompt Response" contest. In addition to writing, she has been a schoolteacher of English, literature, and history, as well as a marketing director. Jennifer is active in American Christian Fiction Writers and lifetime member of the Florida Writers Association. She lives near Tampa, Florida, with her husband, teenaged son, and four fur children.
