The Old Sautee Store was built in 1872 at the intersection of two major roads— at the confluence of the Sautee and Nacoochee valleys in the North Georgia mountains.
One road, Georgia Highway 17, was originally an old Indian trading path known as the Unicoi Trail. It later became a major roadway for settlers to the region. The Old Sautee Store served the local community as a general store and post office until 1962. Of course, I didn’t know any of this when I first passed by the store while on vacation in the area over New Year’s. All I knew was that it was a remarkably interesting sight by the roadside.
The small parking lot was full, but I was already planning on returning at night to get some images of the building. Entering the store led to another surprise. Stepping through the front door was like stepping back in time, for the front portion of the store was maintained as an old general store museum—with an old cash register, weights, scales, canned goods and other sundry items. I immediately headed back out the door to get my camera. Handholding a Nikon D800 with 16-35mm f4 lens, I started taking images whenever the front portion of the store was free of other visitors. I returned later that night to take the night images of the exterior.
The Old Sautee Store is open seven days a week, 10:00 -5:00 on weekdays and 10:00-5:30 on weekends.
