08/28/2026
If these walls could truly talk, the stories they could tell...
Long before this ole farmhouse became home to Rye’s Mercantile Co. It had already lived more than a century of stories.
The farmhouse was built in 1905 on Sixty-six acres of land by a husband and wife, who would unfortunately end up having to part with the home due to a tremendous tragedy. In the early 1920's the house and land would be purchased by the Wright family, who would own and care for it until early 2003 upon the death of the late Gladys Wright.
During the hundred and twenty-six years, this ole farmhouse would truly witness history unfold. It would stand tall through the Great Depression and both World Wars. It watched as the horse and buggy gave way to the automobile, and as electricity and indoor plumbing transformed everyday life. It would see the invention of the Television as it would go from black and white to color, From the huge floor model, to one day having TVs hang directly onto the walls as picture frame once did. For many years, the land would operate as a successful cotton farm, providing both a home and a livelihood for the family who lived here.
Then, in 2004, my family was fortunate enough to acquire the farmhouse along with the sixty-six original acres on which it was built.
For more than 120 years, people have gathered beneath this roof, worked this land and called this place home. Seven-Generations of families walked across these old hardwood floors, shared meals in these rooms', watched children be born, grow up, get married, and return with their own children and someday with their grandchildren. and it has watched the seasons of this life change from this very front porch.
Last week this ole farmhouse began another chapter as the home of Rye's Mercantile Co.
We truly never wanted to erase its age or make it feel like an ordinary retail space. We wanted to honor everything that came before us while breathing new life into this old farmhouse, creating a place where people can once again gather, slow down from the hustle and bustle of the everyday life, and enjoy our little piece of history.
That is why you will still see when you walk through those doors the original hardwood floors, carefully preserved in their original condition. When you step onto the porch, you will also see the remanence of the haint blue paint, preserved in keeping with an old Appalachian tradition of protecting the home from 'haints', Because it was believed that the blue paint would resemble water, and "haints" couldn't travel through water. These aren’t nearly imperfections or some trendy modern design choices; they are original pieces of the farmhouse’s story that we believe deserve to remain and be preserved as a time capsule into history of everything the walls have seen, over these last hundred and twenty one years.
When you shop with us, you aren’t simply walking into a store. You are stepping into a living piece of local history and helping us write its next chapter along the many it has already withheld.
Rye’s Mercantile Co.
Curated Goods, Tailored Service.
