The Old Country Store and Emporium in West Mansfield, Mass., is reminiscent of country stores in Vermont and New Hampshire
by Eric J. Hurwitz
VisitingNewEngland.com

When thinking of prototypical country store locations, the scenic rural backroads of New Hampshire and Vermont seem synonymous with these traditional, old-fashioned retail places to shop.

Much to our surprise, we found the classic Old Country Store and Emporium in the south suburban Boston town of Mansfield, Mass. It seemed strange to find a country store within a mid-sized town with industrial parks, and commuters driving at a maniacal pace on nearby Routes 495 and 95. What’s more, Mansfield is within a few minutes from even more industrial Attleboro, Mass., and halfway between Boston and Providence.

The Old Country Store and Emporium, in the West Mansfield Village section of Mansfield (OK, it is a bit more quaint here than your typical suburban Boston neighborhood), has all the country store trip-back-in-time bells and whistles that you would expect: penny candy, fudge, cream soda, a pickle barrel, Vermont Common Crackers, great Vermont cheddar cheese, homemade peanut butter, maple products, a hardware area, furniture shop, housewares, candles, toys, home furnishings and many hard-to-find merchandise.

The “look” is also classic with old wooden floors and high ceilings and that still-to-be indentified pleasant “country store smell.” The Old Country Store and Emporium also features a separate building with just candles — a bright idea, indeed!

While nothing can ever replace the wonderful feeling of visiting a country store in Vermont or New Hampshire, it’s pretty easy to look forward to taking a drive to Mansfield these days, courtesy of the Old Country Store and Emporium.