Small towns Arcola/Arthur

Where to go to find something unique around Charleston, for those who live on campus and want to get away from the “college” atmosphere to those who just want to find out what’s in some of the small towns around Charleston-there’s lots to offer for everyone with all sorts of interests.

Many people go the Champaign all the time on the “hunt” for something, well the towns between Charleston and Champaign have some pretty unique shops along the way, and its not as far to travel! Instead of driving a good hour stop along the way at exit 203 on Interstate 57. The drive for 203 is about 30 min. and Arcola has some amazing places to shop as well as Arthur.

Arthur is a small neighborhood centered around theAmish lifestyle-very unique very traditional way of life. Yes the Amish are the ones who drive horse and buggies. So stop and see what type of shops they have to offer!

For instance Arcola, known for it Broomcorn festival every year, this is held annually the weekend following Labor Day. It’s a community event where all the local vendors and crafters come out and sell their items to visitors. Really neat place to visit; so much to see.

True Value Hardware located @: 11 West Springfield Rd. according to city-data.com Surprisingly some of the prices are cheaper on merchandise! Gotta love to be able to save money-especially when scraping by. So if you have a project that needs fixed stop here. Sure seems like a waste to drive, but make a day out of it, take a mini road trip.

What Arcola has to offer!Hallie Mae’s Flower Garden, looks just like a flower shop, staff is friendly, yet beware sometimes the prices are high. Make sure you know your budget before going in! Hallie Mae’s also has other items besides just flowers, there are small knick-knacks that can be incorporated into flower arrangements as well or not. Located @ 207 E. Main St. (you can find this on the website!)

My Favorite Things: located just a few blocks from Hallie Mae’s, according to merchantcicle.com, My Favorite Things is @ 124 E. Main St. Just another little trinket shop with some neat stuff, that if one stubles upon it they get Lucky! Somehting for everyone here.

Dollar General Store: The store that lately seems to carry everything and at a reasonable price. Budget is key and Dollar General is the place to go. Again sometims prices are cheaper, just have to watch what the item is. According to the store’s website Dollar General is located @ 462 E. Springfield Rd (this is one of the main roads in Arcola)

Paperback Store; a neat nook of places to buy books! Very reasonalbe on prices and a great way to spend the afternoon looking through various authors. According to Goodge Paperback can be located @ 129 W. Main St.

Country Salvage Store: This is one of the best places to shop it’s a mini grocery store and some of the food is discounted so much one feels like stealing the product when paying harly anthing for it! Wish there was a website, yet it Amish ran and really its located between Arcola and Arthur. This is the place to get lots!!! The address for this gem in the country is @ 427 E County Rd 200 N. According to Goodle. Don’t let the horse and buggies through you off it’s the place to find almost everything!

Yoder’s Homestead Shop-looking for the authentic Amish furniture, well the wait is over! Here at Yoder’s you can find it all and hey they even sell jelly. This furniture is not cheap so don’t expect it to be! The prices are high because the wood used is usually oak and if anyone knows anything about wood its that oak is expensive to begin with. Located @ 117 E. Main St. (found on the website its the first thing after the sites name!)

Arcola really has a lot to offer and not just for those on a budget but for those who want to find something unique, out of the ordinary. There is so much to offer that to truly experience Arcola you have to do it on your own. Other shops Arcola hs to offer are: Arcola Emporium/Antiques, Country Charm, Arbor Meadow’s Lawn Furniture, Okaw Machine Shop, Countryside Flooring, Browne’s Pharmacy, Kuntry Treasures, etc. The list goes on and on and there’s so much! The list is endless and the possibilities are infinite.

Arthur has just as much to offer in terms of shopping if not more than Arcola! You just have to browse and see what’s around Arthur is known for its Cheese Festival and of course the Amish who live in the area!

Just a few of the stores to be found down town Arthur are impressive, this little community has so much that its busting at the seams. The tourism is what keeps the town running. The shops contribute to everyone’s needs whether its homemade Amish goodies-breads, pastas, cinamon rolls, fresh cheese from local vendors, homemade butter, jams, etc. The Amish really know how to create a masterpiece for the food pallete. Concentrating on what’s downtown in Arther one can find all sorts of stuff.

Dick’s Pharmacy: Yes it is the typical pharmacy that comes to everyone’s mind yet it is also unique. Here they have handdipped icecream, in many flavors, they also have old-fashioned soda fountain. Its really neat to watch them make one and kids can pick out various flavors. There’s traditional coke but they even offer strawberry, the combinaitons are endless as well. You can enjoy the treat inside or take it to and the prices are fantastic for the whole experience of seeing your creation come to life! Located @ 118 S. Vine (found on the website, and it’s the main road through Arthur)

Cabinet Factories Outlet: Offering Amish made furniture, and even custome pieces-if your willing to pay the price. This place is very steep on the wallet, but always a nice place to browse for ideas. Located on Vine St. @ 100 N listing is found at Google.

IGA; a grocery store and sometimes they have deals, but other than specials people avoid this store it the only real “main”grocery store in town so it doesn’t have to compete with prices. The website is so outdated that visiting is good to see what potential the address had but hey not everything is current. Located @ 215 S. Vine (the webpage had this! Yay)

The Woodloft: Located @ 138 S. Vine, this another furniture store and the prices are more more reasonable than some of the other stores. It depends on what one wants and what none is willing to pay. The website has so much to tell that’s it interesting to browse without worrying about the store clerk hovering near by in hopes of a sale.

Gospel Book and Music Store: located at 122 S. Vine. This store does not have a website, but the products carried are limited, they do a lot of ordering so don’t be surprised when they don’t have what your looking for. They carry very little and most of what they do carry is music, whether recorded or sheet. To if you need an instrument, or a tune then you will have to wait.

Villa: won’t waist your time this once was a women’s clothing store, by the prices were so high and the demand low, with an Amish based community that it no longer carries clothes and is trying unsuccessfully to transition into furniture. Located @ 136 S. Vine-found it on the store’s website (hard to find though)

Stitch and Sew Fabrics: this uniqu place has all sorts of fabric and even bric-a-brac that the store is overwhelming! Located @ 220 S. Vine (telephone directory). This is a store one either spends hours in looking everything over or ducks in and out for its and overload to the stimulus. This store does not have a webpage- which is a good thing who knows what all would be on it!

Delbert’s Clothing Inc.: Custome attire for men whether a nice suit, to just dress shirts, everything for the business oriented man can be found here. They carry polos, khakis, to custumized suits that can be ready in a days. This a charm for the man, yet don’t worry if your young there’s still stuff here, and if your old they will cater to you needs. So whatever category one clasifies themselves in any man can find something for them. Located @ 123 S. Vine in Arthur.

Arthur Flower and Gift Shops: a unique flower shop with tons to offer, yet if you want something custom the owner refuses, it a battle of wills, even though in most places the customer is always right, here she believes she is always right. Not to worry-if she wants the sell she will please you. She has tons of stuff and loads of catalogues. The problem is she wants to do things her way! So beware! The rest of the staff is happy to help anyway they can! Located @ 216 S. Vine St. According to Google-map and there is no address.

Country Cheese and More: The absolute best place to buy all your favorite food items and while the cinnamon rolls may seem expensive they are well worth every penny! Here they have cheese, rolls, cookies, snacks, bread, etc. They even sell pretzels, sandwiches and soup. So enjoy the atkmosphere. The kitchen is set up so that a customer can watch the Amish ladies in the back and its is all very clean. So shop here and have lunch it’s a great place. Although very small. Large groups have problems fitting everyone in! Located @ 205 S. Main. Wish there was a website for the store, but there is not! A truly gem that everyone fallls in live with.

As you can see there is a lot of places to check out and all are not far from campus, worth a day trip to check out all the unique shops, and who knows what else you may stumble upon that no one else knows is out there! Cheap way to explore surroundings and some of the stores have the best food available. Gotta love the home-cooking, the authenticity these towns have in their communities. Arcola and Arthur may seem small but there’s more than small in what the towns have to offer!