West Main Was Always Prominent

This photograph was likely taken in the mid-1890s.
Alexander England (right) died on March 6, 1896.

The early photograph of Main Street in Brevard looking west toward Bracken Mountain shows wooden storefronts along a wide dirt street.  The three men in the photograph are identified as Jim Paxton, Wait Gash, and Alex England. 

England, L.S. Gash (father of Wait Gash), and B.C. Lankford sold 50 acres to Transylvania County for $1.00 to establish the county seat of Brevard on June 8, 1861.  Because of the Civil War and its aftermath the town was not incorporated until July 1868.  Over the next 20-30 years it grew slowly with the stores and businesses being built near the new brick court house and westward along Main Street.

The large house on the north side of the street, located where the Proper Pot is today, was originally the home of Nathan and Lizzie McMinn.  It also served as one of the early boarding houses in Brevard.   After Nathan McMinn’s death in 1902 his son, Nat owned the property but leased it to various proprietors.  A 1904 notification for a new manager described the house as having 11 bedrooms, bathrooms on both floors, a parlor, an office, and two large sample rooms.  A sample room was a place for traveling salesmen to display their merchandise for local storeowners who may be interested in selling it in their stores.

In 1907 Nat McMinn sold the house to his brother, John who also owned the Aethelwold Hotel just down the street.  Advertisements for the McMinn House and announcements of guest staying there are plentiful through 1910.  In early December 1910 several different groups held oyster or chicken suppers at the McMinn House.

However, a November 10, 1910 announcement in the Sylvan Valley News stated that J.M. Kilpatrick would soon tear down the old McMinn House.  By late December all that remained was the lumber which the Shipman, McMinn, Weilt Company used to build three cottages.  The group built a new three-story brick building on the site of the former McMinn House.

Don Voltz's photograph shows West Main Street with its
early 20th century brick buildings as it looks today.

Downtown Brevard was booming and large brick structures were replacing the smaller wooden storefronts and old homes along Main Street.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library.  Visit the NC Room during regular library hours (Monday-Friday) to learn more about our history and see additional photographs.  For more information, comments or suggestions contact Marcy at marcy.thompson@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.