Economics
Penland Post Office and General Store
The building which houses the Penland Post Office and, for many years, a general mercantile, was constructed in 1902 by Isaac Bailey, a Confederate Colonel and later NC Senator from Mitchell County. Two years later, Bailey and his wife, Louisa Penland, donated land...
Peterson Store in Huntdale
The tiny town of Huntdale, NC, became a thriving community after the Clinchfield Railroad made its way through the Nolichucky Gorge in the early 1900s. In 1890, the Clinchfield tracks reached Erwin, TN, which was less than 20 miles away from Huntdale. Many Western...
The Greene Building in Bakersville
The Greene Building, which currently houses the Bakersville Emporium, was constructed on the site left vacant by the 1922 fire that destroyed part of Bakersville. The Green Building was constructed by David MacDonald Greene, who owned a big white two-story general...
Grassy Creek Golf Course has Storied Past
The Spruce Pine Golf Course had its beginnings prior to World War II, when a nine-hole-course was built on what was then part of the S.T. Henry Dairy Farm at Grassy Creek. This land was once used as a hunting ground by both the Cherokee and Catawba Indians before the...
The First Volunteer Fire Department in Bakersville
This Volunteer Fire Department, the first in Bakersville, NC, was originally known as the Mars Volunteer Fire Department, as noted on the truck’s hood (MVFD). O.D. Calhoun, operator of the Mars Theater in Bakersville was instrumental in helping the group raise the...
Spruce Pine was Hockey Town, USA
In 1982, Robert Bailey and Alvin Barrier, owners of the Buck Stove Corporation, embarked on a bold plan to redevelop the old Harris School property as an entertainment, shopping, dining, and lodging complex. They decided that the bridge between downtown Spruce Pine...
The Pate Family – 107 Years of Postal Service in Tipton Hill
Three generations of Pates have carried the mail along the roads of Tipton Hill, beginning in 1917 with Uriah Pate. Mr. Pate first rode a horse and sometimes a mule to deliver mail. One cold winter day, his mule slipped on the ice and pinned him to the ground. He was...
Skillful Mountain Girl
Pictured at her loom is Mae Gouge Huskins (1911-1984), daughter of Rev. John Anderson and Hulda Thomas Gouge. This photo belongs to Mae’s daughter, Betty Conley; it also appears in Cabins in the Laurel by Muriel Earley Sheppard. That 1935 volume about Mitchell...
Buster Brown Comes To Town!
Turning out when a celebrity visits town has always been commonplace, and when Buster Brown and his dog Tige stopped by the new Spruce Pine Store building in the 1920s, the whole town turned out to say hello. “I’m Buster Brown, and I live in a shoe. That’s my dog,...
SUMMERTIME!
These days our summer recreation and relaxation might involve kayaking or canoeing on the river or cooking hamburgers and hotdogs on a gas grill. However, the 2 photos from the 1950s in this week’s Looking Back show that Mitchell County residents have long enjoyed...