From gas to gopher traps, groceries to garden tools, the Farson Mercantile used to be a place where you could buy just about anything.
Today it’s the ice cream that brings people in, and some summer days they’ll wait in line that stretches all the way to the parking lot.
Founded in 1908, Farson Mercantile is located at the intersection of Highways 28 and 191 about 45 miles north of Rock Springs. It’s the “Home of the Big Cone,” a $10, nearly half-gallon mountain of four scoops of creamy, gooey goodness.
When it’s delivered to the counter, the clock starts ticking and you’ll soon know the difference between how much you can eat and how much will go down your wrist and end up on the front of your sweatshirt.
Make an ice cream mountain
The key to building the Merc’s four-scoop show is getting the first scoop deep into the waffle cone, said Katie Simms, a Mercantile employee.
The ice cream needs to be at the right temperature to aid in crowding while protecting the integrity of the cone. Also, don’t be afraid to use your hands (wear gloves) to help marry the spoons together for the final presentation.
Don’t forget the napkins.
But Simms says not many travelers choose to tackle the Big Cone these days. Smaller portions are the trend, says store owner Dustin Eaton.
The store offers 26 flavors, including Caramel Caribou, which is a toffee ice cream with Rollo candies; Death by Chocolate, which is chocolate ice cream with brownies, chocolate chips and chocolate covered almonds; and Maui Waui with guava, orange and passion fruit.
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Katie Sims works at Farson Mercantile. It has the store’s signature Big Cone, which costs $10 and holds almost half a gallon of ice cream. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) -
Lifelong Wyomingite Jonathan Downing enjoys a medium ice cream cone. (Cowboy State Daily Staff)
A Destination
Affable and ambitious, Eaton is a lifelong Farson resident who also owns a gas station, feed store and ranch.
He says about 25 percent of his business comes from Sweetwater County residents. Many drive from Rock Springs to get ice cream, even on the coldest of winter days.
Like others who live in rural farming communities in the West, Eaton is a “next year” guy. He has owned the business and leased the Merc building, an ornate two-story brick, since 2007.
“You have to have about four jobs to get by,” Eaton said. “One year it seems that one is doing well and maybe the next year another is doing better. It helps hedge your bets, spread the risk.”
Traffic at the Merc picks up around Memorial Day and generally stays at a brisk pace through October. The Merc keeps 10 employees busy, mainly making ice cream, during these months.
Tourist traffic is mainly from travelers heading to Yellowstone and Jackson Hole. Many arrive via Interstate 80, turning north at Rock Springs. Others fly into Salt Lake City, travel north through eastern Idaho, through Yellowstone Park and then return to Highway 191, Eaton said.
“The first of November shuts down, like any other business in this area,” he said. “You go into survival mode for the winter, and if you can survive that, you’ll make some money in the summer.”
survival mode
After two years of sluggish sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eaton expects ice cream sales to help spread its risk in 2023.
“This business was hit by COVID, and like many others, we took a beating,” he said. “But the health department worked with us and even though our traffic was down, we survived and that’s winning in my book.”
Also, it has been a tough winter for livestock in the Eden Valley. Dozens of calves have died. Cows and bulls are suffering the effects of the freeze. The calves were snowed in during a 36-hour snowstorm in early April, Eaton said.
Among the survivors on Eaton’s ranch are many with frozen ears, frozen udders and frozen testicles among the bulls, he said.
Wyoming as it is done
Outside, at the edge of the parking lot, a prairie dog scratches at the dirt and dry grass. It’s a windy late April evening. Along the highway, a few miles north of town, dozens of antelope carcasses litter the desert. Their white skins contrast with the black and pale green paintbrush.
Everything in this valley seems to be waiting, tenuously surviving in anticipation of spring green.
Farson, population 272, 6,580 feet high, has two churches and no bars. He has a cafe, Mitch’s; a state road shed, Sweetwater County Road and Bridge shop; a school, home of the Farson/Eden Pronghorns; a baseball field It also has a ropes course, a clinic, a park, a community center, a firehouse, a post office, a truck stop and a salon – the Chop Shop – where you can get your eyelashes done, according to its sign.
Before Merc
Kim Brown, owner of the Farson Mercantile Building, has lived here since 1955. He can remember when the basement of the Merc was an arcade full of silver dollar and quarter slot machines. He also remembers when those machines were removed and sold at auction.
“When they sold them, they still had all the old coins in them,” Brown said. “The coins were probably worth more than the machines.”
The top floor of the building was once a motel and boarding house. At the back were two large warehouses where hardware and other non-perishable products were stored.
Brown’s first job was pumping gas and checking engine oil at the Chevron station next to the Merc.
“Back then, you could buy everything you needed here: boots, shoes, overalls and hardware,” he said. “People didn’t drive to Rock Springs to shop like they do now.”
To survive, the business has had to evolve.
Brown said the Merc has gone through several owners over the years. The building caught fire and burned sometime in the 1940s.
After the reconstruction, a previous owner started selling ice cream in the late 1970s. Its reputation as an ice cream stand has grown mainly through word of mouth.
Aside from selling a lot of ice cream, Eaton’s business plan is to stock Wyoming-made novelties. Items for sale include coonskin caps, walking sticks, lip balm, baby clothes, t-shirts, baseball caps, rocks and fossils, Eden Valley honey, candles, malted milk balls and a wide range of blueberry products .
“It’s not all Wyoming, but we’re trying to emphasize Wyoming products,” he said. “When we travel around the state, we look for Wyoming products, take pictures of them, and then contact the businesses.”
He said he’s always looking for new Wyoming-produced novelties to stock. The Merc also features friendly staff, gourmet coffee, deli subs and pizza to go.
Summer hours are 9am to 9pm every day except major holidays.
John Thompson is a freelance journalist living in Cora, Wyoming.
