From Amish furniture to homemade wind chimes to wedding-cake fudge, there's lots in store for those willing to make the hour-plus trek southwest of Richmond to this slice of elegant country living.

"The town pulls you in, and you just get relaxed," said Angie Price, an 18-year resident of Farmville and owner of The Wooden Heart, a gift shop that sells Yankee Candles, Crabtree & Evelyn products, Virginia Diner nuts and Old World Christmas ornaments.

"We go to bed with the chickens and get up with them," Price said.

Home to Longwood University and nearby Hampden-Sydney College, Farmville is best known for Green Front Furniture, Appomattox River Co. kayaks and canoes, Mottley Emporium's knickknacks galore and Esther May dresses.

Jane Hood and her 17-year-old daughter, Rachel, traveled from Lynchburg last month to find the dress for Rachel's senior prom.

"Starting in December until May, it's prom craziness," said Debbie Militello, 33, who now owns the shop where she bought her prom and wedding dresses. "Saturdays are like a zoo. You can't see from one side of the room to another."

When asked about her prices, Militello said, "for Farmville they are high. For Richmond, they're great."

But the shopping and the stories don't end there.

Add to that Amish Originals, Rug Rats rugs, Your Just Desserts and a handful of other coffee shops, including The Bakery and Daily Grind. Daily Grind, owned by the New Life Assembly of God Church, is in an old Bank of America building. It still has the vault and the vault door, which leads to a special children's room filled with toys and books.

There are so many coffee shops in downtown Farmville that some residents have started calling Farmville a little Seattle.

Chalk it up to changing times.

"We used to not have any coffee shops. Now we have five," said Appomattox River Co. employee Jeff Smith.

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Originally a receiving center for farm produce, Farmville was the source for dark-fired leaf tobacco long before it started specializing in coffee beans and chocolate creations.

In fact, 5,000 pounds of tobacco were sold in Farmville's three warehouses in 1950, a number topped only by Lynchburg.

Even today, the town doesn't believe in doing anything small. And those who live here don't know any strangers.

"Everyone who comes here ends up staying here," quipped Perry Carrington, a business owner and political player in town. "In Farmville, you have to know everybody."

If you don't know their names, at least you know their faces. The mayor has his plastered on the back of a public-transit bus.

Students say the friendly feel has them feeling quite at home in Farmville.

Caitlin Daly, a 20-year-old from Manassas, is a junior at Longwood.

"I love it here," she said. "It's a great place to have a dog and meet people."

While Farmville is a community well-rooted in history and Civil War ties, it's not afraid of change or growth as long as the future doesn't override the treasures of the past, Town Planner Cindy Morris said.

"There is so much history here," she said. "There's Lee's Retreat. The Appomattox River. There are also a lot of little quaint shops downtown. And of course, everybody knows about Green Front."

The furniture store opened 35 years ago and caters to bargain shoppers looking for name brands. Green Front has more than 650,000 square feet of showroom space, about 18 football fields worth of furniture.

But if you are the kind of person who would trade an ottoman for the outdoors, check out Appomattox River Co.

Ask for Bob Taylor -- he owns the place. A 1972 University of Richmond graduate, Taylor opened his store almost 30 years ago in his father's old construction warehouse and his grandfather's lumber business.

Taylor started with just a few canoes on a part-time basis. Now, he's the biggest retailer on the East Coast. His showroom looks like a rainbow of kayaks and canoes, as can be seen at www.paddleva.com.

These days, Taylor, who grew up tubing down the Appomattox River, feels more comfortable with a computer mouse in his hand than a paddle.

"I am not as daring as I used to be," he said. "At 50, all warranties expired. And I'm 57."

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If Appomattox River Co. is a dream come true to river rats, Mottley Emporium is like heaven on Earth for collectors and flea-market hounds.

One of the most unbelievable shops in downtown Farmville, Mottley specializes in anything -- and lots of it.

Antique chairs line the ceilings. Fiestaware plates cover the walls.

"We have never tried to take inventory," joked Lisa Burns.

Burns, who went into business with her father, Robert Mottley, in 1986, initially held auctions every week before turning the shop into a retail business.

In addition to her dad, Burns' mother, Janice Mottley, works at the store along with Burns' son, Robert Evan Burns. He helps with the sweeping, Burns said.

And of course, there's Burns' husband, Eric, whom you often will find watching Westerns on an old TV at the shop's front counter.

A retired truck driver, he used to see his wife very little.

Now, his wife jokes that she can't get rid of him. He's like the merchandise.

"I can always find a place to store it or stack it," she said.

Over time, Mottley has become a holding tank for Farmville's history.

"We sell new, used and abused," Burns said.

Along with the past, Farmville welcomes the future -- especially the aroma of freshly baked bread at The Bakery and homemade peanut brittle and cashew paws at Your Just Desserts.

"We had the business on the back burner for a while," Cythia Fenaux said. "We said, 'It's now or never, for better or worse.'"

Philip Fenaux, who works with his wife, said, "That's how she got me, too"