Washburn's Store - A Community Pillar.

As I sit under the canopy sipping a Peach Soda from a glass bottle (always tastes better this way) on a seat outside the front of Washburn’s Store, I recall a recent conversation with my dad back in the UK about the decline of the traditional hardware store, how you can no longer just go into a store and purchase a small amount of your required supplies, forced to settle for a large packets of something you may never use the surplus of from an overpriced large retail chain, but a visit to this store tucked away in rural North Carolina has put those thoughts on hold, for the time being at least. 

Nestled on a remote crossroads on the aptly named ‘Bostic Sunshine Highway’, Washburn’s General Store is ideally situated between the rural communities of Bostic & Sunshine in the western region of North Carolina, and has been happily serving these two communities as well as much further afield since 1831. Astounding as that may sound in this modern era, the fact is that there is clearly a need for this type of store and what they offer, so was delighted to be invited to photograph around the store to be able to soak up some of the history and heritage of this amazing location. 

During my time capturing the sheer atmosphere of this location I was lucky enough to be given an all-access tour and a deep insight into the history of this family-owned business by the current custodian Ann Washburn Hutchins, just ponder that for a moment, this store has been in the same family since 1831. There is nothing more honest and revealing than learning the heritage of a location than from someone who has lived through and along that timeline, has had the storied history passed down, whilst at the same time interweaving her own fabric and part of her story into this amazing location. 

Much as the photography aspect of my visit was interesting on a personal level, it was also challenging, after all I am more at home in a vast landscape. During my visit it was the human aspect that impacted me the most, this was really brought to life for me by Ann with her always engaging stories, learning about how the store has changed and adapted over the years to cater for changing needs in the modern era, the effect of the incredible growth of supermarket chains, but most importantly the tangible visual history still retained in the framework & soul of the store for all to see, ranging from the burnt ring in the wood floor where the old wood burning stove used to sit in the store, with the amusing stories about the local kids that used to come in and sit around it in winter, nostalgic photos of the ‘Morning Coffee Club’ that would meet every morning and hang out, even a bench that was donated by the family of a lifetime patron and close friend of the store, now adorned with a commemorative plaque added by the store owners. 

'Coffee Club'

'Memorial Bench'

'Nollie Washburn's Desk, He built the current store in 1920, the adjacent barn in 1915 and the Washburn House on the opposite side of the road in 1913'

I quickly realised that this location was more than just a building with things for sale in, it is about the people past, present and future who frequent the store, the built relationships between the store and the patrons, it has become the foundation of what it is today and why it is such an important part of this rural community, why tourist travel from far and wide to experience this unfathomable feeling you get from being here. It was this aspect that gave me a narrative of how I wanted to try and capture this location, hopefully in the nostalgic homely way, the way in which it made me feel. 

As my wander around looking for compositions I wanted to find the interesting that spoke to the linage, and although there are needed compromises and leanings in certain sections towards the inquisitiveness of the increasing tourist trade, fundamentally it is still very much a hardware & community store, shelves stacked with the useful items that any household would need, and seeing shelves of jars with loose seeds in was something I had not seen in many many years, bins with loose nails in, pots, pans and kitchen gadgets, some of which you may have never seen before, it was a visual feast and fun to capture. 

Although obviously the core products will have changed over all these years of being open, though fundamentally the store is the same and maintaining the same role, which is serving its community in a way that its patrons need and want, that’s why they keep coming back, and not only occasionally, in many cases their whole lives, thus becoming part of the on-going legacy, it’s not just that they have great freshly made sandwiches (so I have heard). 

It pleases me as I wander around that the store that this continually family own business is leaning into the heritage whist still going about it's daily business, as that is a very important part of this location, and why it was in 2002 inducted into 'The National Department of the Interior's' National Historic Register.

As I begin to wrap this up and reflect upon the astounding array of locally sourced products and often kitsch items alongside the traditional hardware supplies, it still astounds me that a family-owned business that opened in 1831 as a tavern, inn & mercantile store for stagecoaches is still serving travellers as well as local residents in a very similar way this many years later, yes you have to adapt as times change, but the fundamentals of what we need are still the same, just packaged differently, it is clear that they have a good grasp of what that is and this knowledge has been passed through the generations of this family....long may it continue! 

Scott.