Country Store

The intriguing aspect of Fisher’s Dollhouse is how it shows how American identity has evolved through the decades of her time. She seems to capture the pivotal pieces within each room that would speak to the viewers on an individual level so that they feel the intention of the design. 

In one of the original rooms, the Country Store, we see early interest in American culture's self-made and small-town feel.

In our current global and consumer driven economy, where we can receive groceries and supply deliveries directly to our homes, it may be challenging for Americans today to understand the full significance of The Country Store. The Country Store was the original supermarket–the postal office–the hardware store—the clothing store–the utility store–all rolled into one business. As far back as the 18th century, Americans relied heavily on The Country Store daily for their shopping needs, and it held several benefits for customers. Not only was it a business center for the community, but it was also a social center in which people learned the news and swapped stories of local and national significance. 

According to historian William A. Russ, Jr. in his 1950 article, “The Country Store of Half a Century Ago,”

“The saying which comes down to us–that the general store sold everything from a gatling gun to a needle–suggests the multitudinous stock it carried. A country merchant was literally a Jack-of-all-trades…”

Additionally, the Country Store represented the origins of the commercial development of America. Specialty stores–-jewelry, clothing, furniture, hardware, and the like–became more prevalent in the 1950s onward and they all got their start within a Country Store.

Russ reflects on this change and states

 that modern conditions have caused it to become antiquated is not to say that the country store was inefficient,or wasteful, or useless. To the contrary, it did a good job as distributor and buyer for its own marketing district; without it, the farmers would have been more isolated than they were. In fact it is hard to see how rural people of fifty or more years ago could have done without the general store, which sold them their staples and bought their produce. Like the horse and buggy, it represents an age in American history. That age was an age of mud roads, subsistence farming, small businesses, local isolation, and ruralness. Many general stores can still be found in country districts, but they are not the emporia they once were.

-William A. Russ, Jr. “The Country Store a Half Century Ago” Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies Volume: 17 Issue 3 (1950), pp.212-214. 

The scene presented to us by Mrs. Fisher’s 1940s replica reveals an extra layer of nostalgia for those who lived outside of urban centers in the mid 20th century. 

Mrs. Fisher’s replica shows a variety of dry goods in the store: an assortment of cereal, flour, sugar, cans of baked beans, soups, mustard, and other condiments. We see a barrel for root beer, bottles of Pepsi-Cola and dairy products such as milk, pet’s milk, and butter. We see in the corner an area that was designated as the county post office in which people would receive and pick up their mail. All of this paints a picture of how popular and busy the Country Store was on a daily basis: Americans needed it to survive.

Additionally, Mrs. Fisher’s Country Store evokes more nostalgia by including specific brands within her model. We see brands like Gerber’s Cereal, Heinz Baked Beans, and Campbell’s tomato soup, all brands that are still around today. And because these brands are still thriving today, we can recognize the enduring legacy of these products as well as the location where they were sold.  

Found pieces present in the Country Store include its lifelike pot-bellied stove with scatterings of tiny pieces of anthracite coal and sawdust along the floorboards. 

These inclusions hint at the flourishing trades and industries of the area while still pointing to that old-town, communal feel with the beloved payphone, a token that one reviewer noted— looks as if it was “probably used by the entire neighborhood” (Hobbyist with a Heart).