Old-Timey Shopping Experience
If you’re in St. Augustine and a sign directs you to the “oldest store,” please don’t be surprised if you only find items on the shelves that are several hundred years past their expiration date. The Oldest Store Museum is a living history museum in St. Augustine, Florida, that catapults you back to the 19th century.
Should you have ever wondered how your ancestors went about their daily grocery shopping, then you are in good hands in the living history experience provided by the oldest store museum. The store is housed in an actual building from the late 1700s, which has been restored to the look and feel of a 19th century general store.
The exhibits include numerous items that would actually have been sold in the general store. This includes clothing, tools, household goods and various food items. Actors dressed in period clothing show you around the store and are ready to answer all your questions about old-timey shopping.
The sale of goods is only one side of the coin – have you ever asked yourself who produced them in the first place? In a time before your daily necessities were produced in bulk in large corporate warehouses, making everyday items was a much more complex undertaking. The museum’s very own blacksmith shop and the nearby candy kitchen, for example, give you a great insight into the old-fashioned way of producing goods.
