Tom Hunley's General Store

A Gathering Place Preserved

The Tom Hunley General Store & Post Office, now a permanent exhibit at the Mathews Museum, showcases authentic memorabilia once collected and displayed by Tommy Hunley—ranging from early-20th-century tobacco cutters and candy jars to vintage scales and hardware. It preserves the spirit of community gathering and commerce in Mathews County.

For over a century, general stores were more than places of business—they were the heartbeat of Mathews County life. Stocked with everything from flour and feed to thread and tobacco, these stores were gathering places where neighbors met, mail was exchanged, and the pulse of the community could be felt.

The Tom Hunley General Store Exhibit is a faithful reconstruction made possible by the personal collection of Thomas “Tommy” Hunley, who spent decades salvaging fixtures and goods from shuttered stores across Mathews. Now, his legacy lives on through this exhibit—packed with original display cases, candy jars, advertisements, and post office boxes from local shops long gone.

In a time before big-box retailers and digital shopping, the general store was where everything happened: you bought your groceries, caught up on local news, picked up your mail, and often, just sat on a barrel and talked awhile. The storekeeper knew every family by name and every child by favorite candy. In many ways, the store was the town’s front porch.

Mathews County once had more than a dozen general stores, spread across crossroads, wharves, and villages—from Port Haywood to Cobbs Creek. Each one reflected its community: some catered to watermen, others to farmers. And all were shaped by the stories of the people who stepped through their doors.