This Ohio Country Store Turns Every Visit Into A Real Treasure Hunt
There is a store in rural Ohio that has a way of making two hours disappear without you even noticing. You walk in expecting a quick browse and walk out three hours later carrying things you never knew you needed, grinning from ear to ear.
Tucked into the heart of Amish country, this place is part hardware store, part museum, part candy store for grown-ups, and entirely unlike anything you have visited before.
Keep reading, because what waits inside is genuinely worth the drive.
A Store With a Story Worth Knowing
The story behind this place is as compelling as the shelves inside it. Jay Lehman founded Lehman’s back in 1955 in Kidron, Ohio, originally to serve the local Amish community with non-electric tools and household goods.
Over the decades, word spread far beyond Holmes County, and the store grew into something much bigger than anyone expected. Today, Lehman’s sits at 4779 Kidron Rd, Dalton, OH 44618, drawing visitors from across the country who make the trip specifically to see it.
The store recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, a milestone that speaks to just how deeply it has connected with people over generations. More recently, HRM Enterprises, the Hartville-based parent company behind Hartville Hardware, acquired the business, but the character and charm of the original vision remain very much alive.
History practically hangs in the air here, and that is not just a figure of speech since actual antiques line the walls throughout the entire building.
The Scale of the Place Will Catch You Off Guard
My first impression was simple: this store is enormous. Bring comfortable walking shoes, because you will cover serious ground before you even reach half the departments.
The layout is divided into clearly marked sections, so navigation is not as overwhelming as the size might suggest. Good signage keeps you oriented, and the staff are easy to find when you need a question answered.
I asked one employee about a hand-pump water system, and she explained it in detail without missing a beat.
The variety packed into this space is genuinely staggering. There are wood stoves, cast iron cookware, canning supplies, hand tools, camping gear, soaps, books, puzzles, toys, clothing, and a Christmas room that stays open year-round.
Spend a full afternoon here and you will still feel like you missed something. Most visitors I spoke with said their first visit lasted at least two hours, and many came back the very next day for more.
Off-Grid Living Supplies Like Nowhere Else
If you have ever been curious about off-grid living, Lehman’s is basically a university for that lifestyle. The selection of non-electric equipment here is unlike anything you will find in a mainstream home goods store.
Wood-burning stoves, hand-powered water pumps, kerosene heaters, and manual grain mills fill entire sections of the floor. The staff can walk you through how each item works, which is genuinely helpful when you are looking at equipment that operates nothing like what you use at home.
The Petromax fire plunger, priced at around $59, is one item that draws specific visitors who travel hours just to pick one up in person. The oil lamp collection deserves its own mention entirely, and there is actually a small museum dedicated to Aladdin lamps inside the store.
For anyone serious about preparedness, homesteading, or simply curious about a different way of living, this section alone justifies the entire trip.
Kitchen Tools That Solve Problems You Did Not Know You Had
The kitchen section at Lehman’s is the kind of place where you pick up a small rubber mat and then spend ten minutes listening to a staff member explain that it peels an entire head of garlic in seconds. Then you buy three of them.
Cast iron skillets, hand-cranked food mills, old-fashioned butter churns, specialty canning jars, and gadgets with no obvious purpose until someone demonstrates them line the shelves in every direction. I found myself picking up tools and genuinely not knowing what they were, which made the whole experience feel like a game.
The staff in this section are particularly knowledgeable and happy to explain the more unusual items. Whether you cook seriously or just enjoy collecting interesting kitchen objects, this part of the store delivers.
A few of the items I bought here have since become the most-used things in my kitchen, and I never would have found them anywhere else.
The Wood Carving Gallery Is Genuinely Breathtaking
Somewhere between the camping gear and the soaps, you stumble into the wood carving gallery, and the pace of your browsing slows down completely. The craftsmanship on display here is remarkable, with pieces so detailed they almost seem to move.
Animals, rural scenes, and decorative figures carved with extraordinary precision fill the space. Some pieces are small enough to fit in your palm, while others are large display works that belong in a gallery.
The level of detail is the kind that makes you lean in closer and then closer again.
These carvings reflect the artistic tradition of the surrounding Amish and rural Ohio communities, and they carry a sense of authenticity that mass-produced decor simply cannot replicate. Several visitors I spoke with said the wood carving section was their favorite part of the entire store.
I left with one piece wrapped carefully in my bag, and it now sits on my bookshelf as a permanent reminder of the visit.
Glass-Bottled Sodas and the Famous Red Phone Booth
Near the front of the store, a classic red phone booth stands like a little time capsule from another era. And yes, it actually works.
Drop in a dime and you can make a real phone call, which sounds like a small detail until you watch a nine-year-old’s face light up when they hear the dial tone.
Right nearby, a cooler full of glass-bottled sodas in dozens of flavors invites you to browse and choose. The selection ranges from familiar classics to some genuinely adventurous flavors that I will only describe as bold choices.
My recommendation is to stick with the fruit varieties unless you enjoy surprises.
This little corner of the store captures something essential about what Lehman’s does so well: it blends nostalgia with novelty in a way that feels completely natural.
Kids love it, adults love it, and it creates one of those shared moments that makes the trip feel like more than just shopping.
Antiques Lining Every Wall Like a Living Museum
The antiques at Lehman’s are not tucked into a separate room or treated as an afterthought. They are woven into the entire store, covering walls and filling display cases throughout every section.
Old stoves, vintage hand tools, early farm equipment, and decorative pieces from past centuries share space with the modern merchandise in a way that feels completely intentional. The founder Jay Lehman had a deep passion for collecting these objects, and his family has preserved that tradition with obvious care.
The effect is that shopping here feels like moving through a museum that also happens to sell things. You find yourself stopping to examine items on the wall that are not for sale, just because they are fascinating.
A cast iron stove from a hundred years ago sits next to a modern version, and the comparison tells its own quiet story about how much and how little things have changed. Few retail spaces manage to feel this layered.
Fudge, a Cafe, and Snacks Worth Slowing Down For
Around the time your legs start reminding you that this store is large, you discover there is a small cafe tucked inside. It is the kind of find that makes you feel like the building is rewarding you for your effort.
The fudge selection here gets its own category of praise. Rich, dense, and made in flavors that go well beyond the standard chocolate and vanilla options, it is the kind of thing you buy as a gift and then eat yourself before you reach the car.
I am not proud of this, but I am also not sorry.
Samples of chips and other snacks are available throughout the store, which keeps energy levels up during longer browsing sessions. The restrooms are clean and well-maintained, which matters more than people admit when you are spending three hours in one building.
The cafe gives the whole experience a comfortable, unhurried rhythm that encourages you to stay just a little bit longer.
Ohio Pottery, Soaps, and Gifts With Real Character
The gift section at Lehman’s solves a problem that most shoppers know well: finding something genuinely original for a person who already has everything. Ohio pottery, locally made soaps with quality ingredients, greeting card sets, and decorative items fill this part of the store with options that feel personal rather than generic.
The Leanin’ Tree card sets in particular drew my attention, available in 20-count boxes at reasonable prices. The soap selection rewards label readers, with natural and thoughtfully sourced ingredients appearing throughout.
There is also a Christmas room that stays stocked and open all year, which either strikes you as brilliant or slightly unusual depending on your relationship with the holiday season.
For anyone who dreads the last-minute gift scramble, a single trip through this section solves most problems on the list. The items here carry a sense of craft and regional identity that you simply cannot replicate with a quick online order, and that difference is worth something real.
Planning Your Visit to Get the Most Out of It
A little planning goes a long way at Lehman’s. The store is open Monday through Saturday, with hours running from 9 AM to 6 PM each day.
The store is closed on Sundays, so plan accordingly.
Parking is plentiful, which is a genuine relief given how many people make the trip. The store draws crowds even on weekdays, so arriving early gives you a calmer, more comfortable experience.
Comfortable shoes are not optional here since the square footage demands them.
You can reach the store by phone at 1-800-438-5346, and their website at lehmans.com offers online ordering if you fall in love with something after you leave.
The store sits in Wayne County, surrounded by the broader Amish country Ohio region, so combining the visit with nearby spots like local bakeries and markets makes for a full and satisfying day out.
First-time visitors consistently say they wish they had planned for more time.