Guilford Country Store

Guilford Country Store is a community general store located at 475 Coolidge Highway, also identified as United States Route 5, in the village center of Guilford, Vermont. The business occupies Broad Brook House, a substantial wood-frame building constructed in 1817 by Solomon Pratt, an early landowner and businessman in East Guilford. The property stands near the junction of Coolidge Highway and Guilford Center Road and historically occupied an important position on the north-south route through the area. Although the retail operation dates from the twentieth century, the building has a much longer civic and commercial history. Before becoming a store, Broad Brook House functioned as a tavern and later accommodated several community uses, including a meeting space, Masonic lodge, post office, inn, and barber shop. Its continued adaptation reflects the role of small roadside buildings in rural New England, where one structure could serve as both a commercial enterprise and a focal point for local services. In 1936, George Fisher purchased Broad Brook House and moved the Morse general store into the building from a location across the street. That relocation established the building's continuing use as a general store and forms the historical basis for the Guilford Country Store identity. The store is therefore closely associated with the preservation and ongoing use of a historic property rather than with a large retail chain or nationally distributed consumer brand. Broad Brook House is a two-and-a-half-story, wood-frame building with clapboard siding, a side-gable roof, and a predominantly stone foundation. Its principal facade is five bays wide and retains elements of Federal-period design, including a former entrance framed by sidelights and a simple cornice. Rear and side ells accommodate later additions, while the former upstairs ballroom has been partly converted to residential space. The current store entrance is associated with a later gabled addition on the north side. The property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. That designation recognizes the architectural and historical significance of the building, while the store's continuing operation contributes to its role as a living part of Guilford's village landscape. Available reference material does not identify a corporate parent, public listing, broad operating footprint, named current executives, financial results, or a detailed catalog of merchandise. The business is best understood as a locally oriented country store whose identity is inseparable from the historic Broad Brook House site.

Broad Brook House was built in 1817 by Solomon Pratt, one of the early landowners and businessmen associated with East Guilford, Vermont. Pratt constructed the building as a tavern beside the principal north-south road through the area, a route now represented by United States Route 5 and Coolidge Highway. Its placement at the center of Guilford's main village gave it both commercial visibility and civic importance. Over the following decades, the building served a succession of local functions. In addition to its original role as a tavern, it was used as a meeting place, Masonic lodge, post office, inn, and barber shop. These changes illustrate the building's continuing importance as a multipurpose community property. Rather than being limited to one commercial use, Broad Brook House accommodated services that connected residents, travelers, and local organizations. The building's current retail history began in 1936, when George Fisher purchased the property and moved the Morse general store into it from a building across the road. This change established continuous general-store use in Broad Brook House from that year onward. The store subsequently became known as Guilford Country Store, and the retail business remains the principal public identity associated with the historic structure. Architecturally, Broad Brook House is a two-and-a-half-story timber-frame building with clapboard siding, a side-gable roof, and a foundation made mainly of stone. The west-facing principal elevation is arranged symmetrically in five bays and includes a former entrance with simple Federal-period detailing, sidelights, and a modest cornice. A gable-roofed ell extends behind the main block, while a shed-roofed ell runs along the northern side and includes a gable over the current main entrance. The upper ballroom has been partly adapted for residential use, demonstrating the building's continued modification over time. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. Its significance rests on the combination of age, architectural integrity, location, and long community use. The Guilford Country Store's presence keeps the building in active commercial use and links a contemporary local retailer with a structure that has served Guilford residents and travelers for more than two centuries. Publicly available reference material provides little information about the store's merchandise assortment, ownership structure, staffing, financial performance, or expansion plans; those aspects therefore remain undocumented in this entry.

• 2011

  National Register listing

  [1]Broad Brook Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Broad Brook House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

• 1936

  General store relocated into Broad Brook House

  [1]Broad Brook Houseen.wikipedia.org

  George Fisher purchased the building and moved the Morse general store into it from across the street, beginning its documented continuous use as a general store.

• 1817

  Broad Brook House constructed

  [1]Broad Brook Houseen.wikipedia.org

  Solomon Pratt built the wood-frame tavern that later became the home of Guilford Country Store.

A locally oriented Vermont country store combining everyday general-store retail with the heritage and community character of an historic village property.

• General retail · 1936

  General-store merchandise

  The store is identified in historical references as a general store, but the available material does not provide a detailed current merchandise list. Its documented role is that of a locally oriented retail establishment serving the surrounding Guilford community rather than a nationally standardized product brand.

1. 1Broad Brook Houseen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Guilford Country Storeguilfordcountrystore.com