Old Gass General Store

Welcome to South Park City Muse Hello, my name is Erin Pulsifer and I am the curator at South Park City Muse In today's video, we will find out what it was Before we get started, please just take a moment to subscribe to our channel. It helps us out by telling YouTube that our channel is worthw If you And now, let's get started. The 1859 Colorado Gold Rush brought more than just miners. As droves of prospectors spilled into South Park, dreaming of There were riches to be found in the retail trade as well. The general store was a boomtown staple, a vital part of the community, bringing access to much needed supplies, a place to pick up the mail, and even serving as a social hub for townsfolk. Without a general store, miners and other residents of towns A general store brought access to luxury items Having such necessities helped those early towns grow into thriving communities. The general store was a successor of sorts of the early trading posts of the American frontier. They prospered by using the simple formula of supply and demand. Residents of boom towns didn't have time to make the long journey to the nearest city for supplies. They were willing to pay A miner's trip to the general store not only fulfilled their need for supplies, but it served as much needed social time as well. It was a place to catch up with friends and hear all the news and gossip the proprietor had to offer. Chairs next to the wood stove offered a comfortable spot to sit and chew the fat. The general store often served as a post office as well. The shopkeeper would sort and distribute mail as it was delivered via stagecoach and later by rail. The fleeting nature of boom towns, thriving w Many general stores were run out of a simple canvas tent only to expand to more permanent structures once the town became more established. It was common for general stores to be made up of a simple wooden two-story structure faced with what was called a false front. An arc Some boom towns After the Fair Play Fire of 1873, stone and brick structures were more desirable as they were less flammable than their wooden predecessors. The Simkins General Store at South Park City is a two-story building w It is the only building that was not moved intact to South Park City. The date of the original construction is unknown. Almost everyt The items range from buttons to shoes, from sacks of flour to guns. Packed from floor to ceiling, general stores of the Old West had to be organized for the proprietor to find what their customers needed. The way the Simkins General Store is laid out with food items one side and dry goods on the other was a common way to organize merchandise in the Old West. Customers wouldn't browse the aisles They would instead give their order to the person working be The way we shop today, on our own with shopping carts, didn't come about until the 1930s with the rise of the supermarket. At the Simkins General Store, Cracker Barrels, a company at Cheese Table, set with an authentic round of goat cheese from the 1880s, enclosed in a glass case. The cheese was a unique gift to the muse There are old-time favorites such as whorehound syrup and towels log cabin maple syrup packaged in a tin can representing a pioneer log cabin. Preserved raspberries and small crocs, spices of tartar, cloves, ginger and pepper line the many shelves. Butter molds, c A wooden cabinet stores corn, beans, sunflower seeds, rice and peas. Shoes, spats, A healthy selection of hatpins, buttons and even eyeglasses are available alongside lanterns, rat traps and even padlocks. The General Store was often the first place in town to have a telephone and was another service provided townsfolk. At the rear of the store are post office boxes from the town of Garrow, one of the earliest post offices in the South Park area. The General Store was often a family-run business. Each member of the family had a role at the store. It took up most of the family's daily life. The store would usually be open from sun up to sun down six days a week. T Even the children had jobs One day if they were lucky those c Since most Old West towns were based around mining and in the case of fair play, It was common for storekeepers to advance credit to customers whose yearly income was tied to the harvest or to a productive mine. When the customers were paid for their crops, cattle ore, they would be expected to pay off their bill at the General Store. Bartering was also common. Storekeepers would trade fresh produce or eggs for staple items, such as sugar or even l Sometimes in the case of a large harvest for example, store credit would be issued instead of trade, w Come harvest time, the cycle would start all over. It kept the local economy moving along and it helped communities establish themselves for the long haul. The General Store thrived in the Old West. It was an important part of the community for decades. It wasn't until the advent of the mail order catalog and the expansion of the railroad when customers could get what they want delivered to them that the General Store gave way to specialty stores. By the late 1920s, the General Store became less of a small town staple and more of an old fas If you would like to see the same King's General Store in person, South Park City Muse As a non-profit organization, South Park City survives on the proceeds from ticket sales and private donations. If you'donations from t What do you think you would What other topics would you Let us know in the comments. We'd love to hear from you. If you enjoyed this video, please support South Park City by giving us a th We'll