The General Store History

The General Store was originally established by Mr. Julius Jasper Andrews (1877–1955) along Cedar Fork Road, about one mile from Cedar Fork Crossroad. This was his second store, following an earlier one he operated from around 1913 until he constructed this building.

Built in 1925, the store features heart pine construction with board and batten siding and a tin "A" roof nailed directly to the rafters. The original structure measured 10 feet by 15 feet, with an additional 10-foot-by-10-foot front shelter. A few years later, the store was expanded, doubling both its size and that of the shelter.

According to J.C. Andrews (1912–2001), the only son of Julius Jasper Andrews who later operated his own store on the same site, the store relied on an icebox to keep soft drinks cold. In addition to beverages, the store sold corn, animal feed, thread, cloth, kerosene, and a variety of other essentials. Outside, a manual lever-style pump dispensed gasoline from the Pure Oil Company.

The building remains largely in its original condition, with only minimal restoration work needed—such as replacing a few rafters and tin sheets over the shelter. The counter is the only component that has been replaced. In honor of its legacy, the Andrews Store was donated to the Homestead Museum by the family of J.C. Andrews: his wife, Evelyn, and their children, Raybourne, Brenda, and Johnny.

On November 5, 2001, the building was carefully relocated to its current home at the museum by Richard Lanier and Benny Fountain.