The Donahoe General Store contains all of the shelving, cabinets and fixtures of the old Donahoe Brothers Store that was located in Clare, Iowa. The old-time general stores sold a little bit of everything, general merchandise, hence the name, and our store reflects that.
In many ways, the general store could be considered a shopping mall from the turn of the century. Here you could by foodstuffs, clothing, fabrics, feed and seed for the farm, harness for the horses, implements and tools, and even new strings for your violin.
The general store also served as a village meeting place where townsfolk could stop by to catch up on local, state and national news, or just visit with neighbors. In the days before individual packaging became common, many food items came in bulk and the owner of the store would weigh and wrap your order while you passed the time in a game of checkers near the potbellied stove.
Generally being one of the more prominent citizens in a small town, the general store proprietor often served as postmaster and even informal banker and de facto mayor. The general store was truly the center of small town life.
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