About 13,000 pickles get fished out of one giant barrel here every year. Dill outsells sour two to one, which settles a debate I didn’t know existed.
The cheddar has its own story too. It arrives in 35-pound wheels and ages in the basement for two and a half years.
The cash registers are antiques, and the clerks still do the math themselves.
I love that a New Hampshire shop this old still feels this lively. The floorboards squeak, the candy counter sprawls, and the rooms keep going.
Then there’s the upstairs. It holds a free museum packed with old tools, saws, and even outhouse seats.
I can’t imagine a better excuse to climb a staircase. So how does one family keep a store running that started before George Washington became president?
Grab A Pickle Straight From The Barrel Like It Is 1781
Few snacks come with a history lesson attached. At The Old Country Store and Museum in Moultonborough, the pickle barrel is the main event.
It sits near the registers, big and hard to miss. You reach in, pick your pickle, and suddenly you’re shopping the way folks did centuries ago.
Two choices wait for you: dill and sour. Dill sells about twice as often, so sour fans are a proud minority.
Either way, you’re joining a crowd of roughly 13,000 pickle buyers each year.
That number is worth a pause. It means dozens of pickles leave this barrel on an average day, one crunchy customer at a time.
I like how simple this ritual is. No fancy packaging, no plastic tub, just brine and a giant cucumber looking for a new home.
Here’s a tip for road trippers. A barrel pickle makes a great mid-drive snack, and it travels better than ice cream ever will.
Kids usually find the whole thing hilarious, which is half the fun. Adults pretend to be more dignified about it, but not for long.
So go ahead and pick the biggest one. Nobody here will judge your ambition.
The Doors Opened Before America Had A President
July 30, 1781, is the date records show this store doing business. The Revolutionary War hadn’t even officially wrapped up yet.
The story actually starts a bit earlier. General Jonathan Moulton sold the land in 1777, and in 1779 it went to a trader named George Freese.
The building itself dates to around 1780. That makes The Old Country Store and Museum one of the oldest continuously operating general stores in the United States.
It’s also among the oldest surviving businesses of any kind in the country. That’s a lot of years of selling, sweeping, and counting change.
The building wore many hats over time. It served as a tavern, a stage stop, a library, and a post office for more than a century.
Town meetings happened here too, both in the early 1800s and the 1900s. Imagine debating local issues while surrounded by barrels and shelves.
In 1982, the building earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places. That honor fits a place that has quietly outlasted almost everything around it.
Every creak in the floor carries a little of that past. You’re shopping inside living New Hampshire history.
One Family Has Been Minding The Counter For Over 50 Years
Back in 1973, the Holden family bought a store that was already almost two centuries old. Talk about inheriting a big job.
Steve and Cile Holden took the reins, and their daughter Jo Hayden is part of the team. Together, the family has run the place for more than 50 years.
That kind of steady hand matters. A historic building needs people who care about keeping its character intact, not just its shelves stocked.
You can see that care in the details. The upstairs museum even includes old tools built by the current owner’s father.
I believe that personal touch is what keeps the store from feeling like a theme park. It feels like a real business with real roots.
Some of the maple syrup sold here comes from the owner’s own farm. That’s a pretty direct line from tree to shelf.
Half a century is a long run for any family business. Here, it’s just the latest chapter in a book that started in 1781.
Somehow the Holdens make it look easy. Running a store this old probably isn’t, but they’ve clearly got the knack.
Spot The Yellow Building With The Red Shutters And Pull Over
Bright yellow walls and red shutters make this building easy to find. It practically waves at passing cars.
A wraparound porch stretches across the front, complete with a long bench. It’s the perfect spot to rest while someone else finishes shopping.
The structure is built with rough-hewn timbers and covered in clapboards. That old-school construction gives the store its sturdy, honest look.
Out front, an old sign points toward nearby Lakes Region towns. It feels like a friendly nudge to keep exploring after your visit.
You’ll find The Old Country Store and Museum at 1011 Whittier Highway, Moultonborough, New Hampshire 03254. It sits right in the village center.
The store marks the junction of Whittier Highway, which is NH 25, and Holland Street, which is NH 109. That puts it on a natural route for lake country drives.
Parking is available behind the building, which helps on busy days. Restrooms are portable units in the lot, so plan accordingly.
Snap a photo of that porch before heading in. Trust me, the colors pop on camera, especially against a blue New Hampshire sky.
Cheddar That Spends Two And A Half Years In The Basement
Patience is the secret ingredient downstairs. The store buys Cabot cheddar in 35-pound wheels, then lets them age for two and a half years.
Yes, the basement here is basically a cheese nap room. That long wait turns good cheddar into something sharp and memorable.
Around 5,000 pounds of it sell every year. That’s a staggering amount of cheese for one country store.
Big wheels on display make it hard to walk past. Grabbing a hunk feels like a small victory.
I like that the aging happens right on site. It connects the cheese to the building in a way supermarket blocks never will.
Here’s a smart move for picnic planners. Pair a wedge of this cheddar with a barrel pickle and you’ve got a classic New England snack.
Bring a cooler if you’re heading home from a long trip. Cheese this good deserves a safe ride.
It also makes a thoughtful gift for food-loving friends. Few souvenirs taste better than one that’s been aging in an 18th-century basement for years.
Wax Lips, Sky Bars, And Fudge Worth Fighting Over
Remember wax lips? They’re still here, waiting to make you look silly in family photos.
The candy counter is huge and packed with old-fashioned treats. Turkish taffy and Sky Bars share space with plenty of other nostalgic favorites.
Many candies are sold by the pound now. The name penny candy stuck around, even if the penny prices didn’t.
Then there’s the homemade fudge. Popular flavors include peanut butter, chocolate, and penuche nut, which is a brown sugar fudge.
Penuche deserves extra attention if you’ve never tried it. It tastes like caramel decided to become fudge and never looked back.
Maple lovers get their own reward too. The store sells New Hampshire maple syrup, with some coming straight from the owner’s farm.
A practical tip: let kids pick a set number of candies before you reach the counter. Otherwise, negotiations might last longer than your parking spot.
Grown-ups tend to linger here as long as the kids do. Something about those glass jars brings out everyone’s inner ten-year-old.
Leave with a little bag of sweets. Your future self on the drive home will thank you.
Everything Except The Kitchen Sink, And Maybe That Too
Shopping lists don’t stand a chance here. The store is famously described as having everything except the kitchen sink.
Shelves hold jellies, jams, molasses, and snacks. Then the aisles wander into puzzles, games, pictures, and hardware.
Keep going and you’ll find Coca-Cola lunch boxes and road signs. Coffee mugs, kitchen gadgets, clothing, and collectibles fill in the rest.
Room after room keeps the surprises coming. It’s the kind of layout that makes a quick stop turn into a long browse.
I believe that’s part of the magic. You come for a pickle and leave with a cast iron hook you didn’t know you needed.
Gift shopping gets easier here too. With so much variety, there’s something for the cook, the collector, and the kid who has everything.
A helpful approach is to loop the whole store before buying. That way you won’t spot the perfect item after you’ve already checked out.
Give yourself more time than you think you’ll need. The Old Country Store and Museum rewards slow, curious wandering more than speed shopping.
Old Registers Mean The Clerks Still Do The Math
Calculators? Not at this counter.
The antique cash registers are still in use, so clerks handle the math themselves.
That’s a skill most of us outsourced to our phones long ago. Watching it in action feels like a tiny time machine ride.
The floorboards squeak as you move through the rooms. Every step announces you, which adds to the old-time charm.
Look closely at the coolers too. Old ice boxes have been converted into modern refrigeration, so your soda stays cold in vintage style.
These details give the store its bygone feel without trying too hard. Nothing here seems staged for tourists.
It’s a great teaching moment for kids. Ask them how they’d add up a total without a screen, then see who gets it first.
I like how the store blends history and usefulness. The antiques aren’t just decoration, they still do their jobs every day.
So listen for the squeak and the register bell. Those sounds are part of what makes a trip to this New Hampshire landmark feel so different from a modern shop.
Climb The Stairs For A Free Museum Full Of Curious Relics
Outhouse seats on display might be the most unexpected exhibit in New Hampshire. They’re upstairs, and they’re just the beginning.
The museum is free to explore. It showcases antiques, local historical items, and old tools, some built by the current owner’s father.
Displays of saws line the space. You’ll also see samples once used for ordering ready-made suits, a peek at shopping before catalogs went digital.
A whole section honors the former post office. That fits, since the building handled mail for more than 100 years.
Many shoppers get so busy downstairs that they forget to head up. Don’t make that mistake.
Remember to look rather than touch. These pieces have survived a long time and deserve gentle eyes.
It’s a great rainy-day stop for families in the Lakes Region. Kids can guess what mystery tools were used for before reading the labels.
The store is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., so there’s time to see both floors. Save the museum for last, and end your visit to The Old Country Store and Museum with a proper history lesson.
