Anyone who has read the “Little House on the Prairie” book series or watched the 1970s television shows based on the books remembers a focal-point setting: Oleson’s Mercantile. It was the general store owned and operated by characters Harriet and Nels Oleson that served as a central hub for not only buying and selling goods, but to learn local, regional, and national news as well as meet community needs.
Very few historic general stores have survived modernity. As chain grocery stores and mega retailers emerged, they were demolished or turned into homes, museums, or event centers. R.M. Brooks in Rugby, Tennessee, is an exception. Since the 1920s, it has been continuously owned by the same family. And, its doors only closed temporarily after the third-generation operator’s sudden passing.
