Compliments of John Ward

"Pills, Petticoats, and Plows"
Thomas D. Clark

General merchandise stores like John Ward's were common fixtures in rural communities. Ward, an industrious farmer, purchased his store in 1898 from its previous owner and remodeled it extensively. It was located at Watauga Falls, North Carolina, and Ward continued in business until 1917 when he returned to farming. The post office, often located in general stores, remained in operation until 1928. The building was then closed up, but stayed in family hands until the Appalachian Cultural Museum was permitted to remove a section of it for exhibition.

After the Civil War, Americans everywhere became increasingly dependent on manufactured goods that industry was now capable of producing in vast quantities. Factory-made cloth replaced homespun for many families and commercially available dyes, threads, and medicines were a welcome substitute for the drudgery of producing home-made articles.

John Ward's business records show that this process was also at work in the Blue Ridge by the turn of the century. These records have also been used to recreate a section of the Ward store, decorated for Christmas in the year 1911. The Ward store exhibit is lent by Ward's descendent, Paul Shepherd and his wife Evelyn.