other general store in the County. Fortunately for the community, Montgomery Parks undertook a complete rehabilitation of the building and the site, with an eye toward reopening as a general farm store. Using historically appropriate building practices, they restored the tongue and grooved ceiling and oak floors, upgraded plumbing and electrical systems, and added a kitchen, staff restroom, sidewalks, and ADA ramps. The store reopened in 2020, to much celebration in the community.
Even Older History
During the reconstruction Montgomery Parks did archeological testing, and discovered more than 2000 artifacts next to the building site. One of the most significant finds was an 18th-century stone mill wheel pit, which meant that water from the nearby stream would have flowed through the mill to power grinding equipment to process grain for nearby farms. Other finds included remnants of an 1850s pot-belly stove, along with a Victorian-era porcelain doll and day-to-day tools and utensils.
Historical records reveal that the first Allnut general store was built right on the canal to capture business from canal boatmen, but when canal traffic slowed down due to the rise of railroad shipping and frequent floods, Allnut built the store farther away from the canal to its current location. For many years a small resort community of vacation homes, anchored by the Seneca Hotel, was clustered between the general store and the river, and the store was well positioned to offer provisions for vacationers. Every time the creek flooded, however, the County condemned the flooded homes and eventually all the land was reclaimed as parkland.
Today Marilyn Poole and Jo Ann Poole Clements welcome customers into a crisply painted, white clapboard building to find all manner of supplies for farmers, gardeners, bird lovers, and livestock owners. The patina of the oak floors, the high shelves that line both sides of the store,
Jo Ann Poole Clements( left) and Marilyn Poole carry on the family tradition of personalized service.
PHOTO: melane kinney hoffman
and the friendly, personal service of two Poole sisters welcome you into the time-honored tradition of the general store. Plentiful racks of vegetables and herbs, and neat stacks of large bags of animal feed, pasture seed, soil mixes, and mulches frame the outer edges of the building. Water troughs, farm gates, and straw bales are queued up for pickup trucks to load and head back to their farms. The Poole’ s dogs Jojo and PuppyDog are regular greeters to all who enter, and the cat, King, supervises from behind the counter.
The store is currently owned by the Day family, who operate
two PHOTOS: Wib Middleton
Shelves are stocked with essentials for farmers, gardeners, pet owners and bird lovers, while flowers and vegetable plants for sale wrap a cheerful ring around the historic building.
24 plenty I summer growing 2025