Carpenter Farm Supply Co.

Yesterday I was driving home from visiting teaching, and, on a whim, went inside this old country store which is only a mile from my house.  It is an oddity in our area, a leftover building from when this was all tobacco farms.  Now this store is surrounded by medium-to-very-expensive houses.

I have seen this store almost daily for the 4 1/2 years we have lived in our current house, I have to pass it almost every time I go anywhere.  But I had never gone inside until today.

It was old and run down and the merchandise was piled all over the place, just like you would picture in an old west movie.

I spoke to the proprietor, Mr. Carpenter.  He said it has been in the family for four generations.  He said the tall part of the building was built in 1916.  I am assuming the short part was built in 1885, since the sign says "Carpenter Farm Supply Co. Since 1885".

There was a big woodburning stove in the middle of the room, with some farmer-type individuals sitting around it.  Again, just what I pictured would be inside an old general store.

I am interested in getting a woodburning stove, so I asked a few questions about that, but I should have asked the men in overalls a few questions, like "why do you hang out here?" and "did you used to hang out here when you were a kid?"

The crossroads where the store is located is named Carpenter, of course, named after the owner's family.  Carpenter-Upchurch Road runs right in front of it (the road goes between the little old communities of Carpenter and Upchurch), and a short distance away is Carpenter Fire Station Road, and farther away is Jenks-Carpenter Road (also named for going between the two little old communities of Jenks and Carpenter).  It is fun knowing the old history of our area.

While I was there I wandered around and made a mental list of their merchandise (nails, a Flexible Flyer sled, cool shovels and workgloves and lots of farming implements like tractor seats and plow parts).
I think you could find anything you might need to live on a farm and grow your own chickens and vegetables.

 I am going to go there the next time I need something, instead of going to Ace Hardware.  I want to give Mr. Carpenter some business, since there is a dwindling farmer population around here.

 I bought some Sorghum molasses, which I haven't eaten since my Grandma used to make it herself. And some mousetraps.  You never know when you might need them.