Photographer Jim Jones was known as one of Mitchell County’s “Picture Men” in the first part of the twentieth century. He captured the essence of life in the Toe River Valley during that time period. Jones first took portraits of people in his Bakersville studio, where he lived until 1946. Later, he would move his business to a studio on Lower Street in Spruce Pine. Many of his pictures were on glass plates, which made them breathtakingly sharp and clear.
Getting around Spruce Pine in the 1940s was made easier by a fleet of taxis shown in this iconic Jim Jones photograph. Their lineups on Upper Street are a poignant view of an earlier time. Above, pictured (R-L) are Pete Ellis, Plug Pittman, Ernest King, Lawrence Smith, Mutt Burleson, and Howard Hise in front Burleson Store. Note the phone box on the pole beside the cars that was their office.