Tucked deep inside Florida’s Withlacoochee State Forest, the Richloam General Store stands as a rare, tangible window into early 20th-century pioneer life. Located just east of Ridge Manor in Hernando County, it is the sole surviving structure of Richloam - a once-bustling boomtown that faded into a ghost town decades ago. To get there, head east on Cortez Boulevard (SR50), and turn south on Richloam Claysink Road.

The store’s story began in 1922 when Lucius Sidney "Sid" Brinson established a general store and post office to serve a local turpentine camp and farming community. Connected to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, the building became the town's administrative and economic heartbeat, functioning simultaneously as a store, post office, railroad depot and express office, and social hub. During Florida’s 1920s land boom, Richloam was a rough-and-tumble logging outpost. The area was so unruly that in 1926, a local deputy sheriff was tragically shot and killed nearby during an arrest over a stolen dog.

Violence struck the store itself in January 1928, when robbers raided the shop and set it ablaze. Undeterred, Sid Brinson rebuilt the store just a month later, opting for corrugated galvanized metal siding to protect against future fires - the distinct look the building retains today.

The Great Depression brought a swift end to the settlement of Richloam. As logging thinned out, the railroad depot closed, and Brinson shuttered the store in 1936. The federal government acquired surrounding lands (which eventually formed the state forest), and the old general store sat largely vacant for decades, serving briefly as a residence before falling dormant.

In 2016, Sid Brinson’s great-nephew, Eric Burkes, along with his wife Donna, spearheaded a restoration effort. Rather than replacing the structure, they painstakingly preserved as much original material as possible, including original metal siding, interior bricks, and historic wall graffiti written by local residents nearly a century ago. In October 2017, the building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Reopened as both a working store and a living museum, Richloam offers visitors a step back in time. On the porch, visitors can sit in wooden rocking chairs and take in the quiet forest scenery. Inside, shelves are stocked with goods straight out of the 1920s and '30s: old-fashioned glass bottled sodas and homemade root beer, jars of traditional "penny candy", Moon Pies, local raw honey, preserves, and jams, salt-cured meats and stone-ground grains, handmade brooms, aprons, and vintage toys.

Operating without high-tech frills, the Richloam General Store remains one of Florida’s most authentic historical stops, keeping the memory of "Old Florida" alive. And while you're in the neighborhood, be sure to stop at the nearby forest service fire tower about a tenth of a mile south of the store on Richloam Claysink Road. While no longer in service, it is one of the few remaining towers still standing in Florida.
Activities & Facilities

RestaurantMuseum or Visitor CenterDogs allowedArts/crafts vendorsShort hiking trails

• Richloam General Store official website