This story is part of our weekly Hidden Gems feature series as the USA TODAY Network-Florida takes readers around the state to highlight some of our most interesting attractions.
Deep in the woods of the Withlacoochee State Forest, between Interstate 75 and U.S. 27, the old-timey Richloam General Store and former post office takes you back to yesteryear.
WorldAtlas recently ranked the landmark among the five best historic general stores in the South.
What makes Richloam General Store so special?
The federally registered historic landmark harks back to Florida’s tumultuous pioneer days.
Chad Gallivanter, a YouTuber and connoisseur of Old Florida destinations, sums it up as “truly a step back in time.”
Lucius Sidney “Sid” Brinson built the store as a post office in 1921 as part of a timber and turpentine industry camp, like other communities that sprang up along southeastern U.S. railroads during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Florida’s Orange Belt Railway.
Arsonists burned down the first building, and the store was rebuilt in the late 1920s, operating until the 1940s.
In 2016, Eric Burkes, a descendant of the Brinsons and the last private property owners in the state-owned forest, began renovating the store and reopened it in 2017.
Burkes used as many of the original building materials as possible, including original sheet metal for the walls, remaining old-timey advertising signs, and even some of the bricks and etchings on the walls.
The PBS series “Our Vanishing Americana, Florida” featured the historic general store along with other not-too-far-away destinations.
What to expect?
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more literal interpretation of a hidden gem than the Richloam General Store.
It’s tucked away a little more than a half-mile inside the Withlacoochee State Forest, marked only by a brown state landmark sign.
As you enter, tall pine trees line the road, interrupted occasionally by the graceful bows of live oaks.
On arrival, rocking chairs and antique gas pumps lull you sweetly back to yesteryear. The original doors from 1926 usher you inside (thankfully, the shop’s air conditioning is one of the few non-vintage experiences here.)
On our visit a while back, Burkes’ mom, Denise Brinson, greeted customers at an early-20th-century cash register (but they also take more modern forms of payment, including credit and debit cards, Apple Pay and GPay.) Even the old mail slots are still there.
Folks of all ages lined up to try the store’s hand-scooped ice cream. Mom Brinson’s hand-sewn aprons and sock monkey dolls were for sale inside the shop. Other throwback toys like Tiddly Winks and Raggedy Ann Dolls lined the shelves. An impressive array of glass-bottle sodas quenched thirsts, and, yes, you can buy a moon pie and RC Cola at the Richloam store.
For the grown-ups, a hand-crank coffee mill invited customers to grind smoky-roasted coffee beans. Also available: Amish-canned and preserved foods, hand-crafted tableware, cast-iron pans, homemade jams and jellies, seeds, and Dapper Dan mustache and beard wax for the well-groomed gents.
If you want to go deeper into the area’s history, Burkes has written a book filled with the tales of the people who shaped the Flatwoods and glimpses of local culture and traditions.
Speaking of old traditions, we spotted an old thingamabob used to skewer squirrels and other critters, reminding us of how folks would make do with what was available.
Richloam General Store is not only a place to buy historical novelties; it’s like a museum that shows what a general store and post office looked like in the 1920s and 1930s. Visiting this Florida Landmark offers a great opportunity to teach the young’uns what Florida was like “back in the day.”
Richloam General Store
What you’ll find: old-fashioned snacks, hand-scooped ice cream, glass-bottle sodas, beauty items, accessories, toys, kitchenware, remnants of an old post office, antiques and rocking chairs for relaxation.
Where? 38219 Richloam Clay Sink Road, Webster, Florida
When to visit? Open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily
How to contact them? Call 800-915-8027 or visit richloamstore.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/richloamstore
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: An old-timey hidden gem: Richloam General Store welcomes customers old-timey style
Reporting by Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial / Daily Commercial
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