Just 1.4 miles from the house, the Original Mast General Store is the best rainy-day wander in the valley. The first room was built in 1883, and the store has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973 as one of the best surviving old country general stores.
It still feels like one. There’s a pot-bellied stove, 5-cent coffee paid on the honor system, and a working community post office inside. The shelves are packed with country foods, cast iron, speckleware, old-fashioned toys, boots and hardware, and the Knife Shop in the old potato-grading room carries around 500 knives.
Two-tenths of a mile down the road, the Mast Store Annex has the famous candy barrels, and the kids will want to fill a bag. Pearl’s Kitchen is right next door for coffee or lunch.
Good to know: the store is open all year, Monday to Saturday 9am to 6pm and Sunday 11am to 6pm. Park in the gravel lot behind the store. There’s an accessible space out front and an EV charger in the back lot.
