Austin's Art Shop

 

The Austin Family outside their shop at the East Main Street location, mid-1940s. From left to right: Mildred, Bill Jr., Joan, William, Jeannette, and Pat.

Austin’s Art Shop operated in downtown Brevard for 73 years. William Charles Austin and wife Mildred Galbraith Austin were both natives of New York and trained photographers. William was a disabled veteran of World War I who taught photography at the Southern School of Photography in McMinnville, TN before the family moved to Waynesville, where he headed a government operated school of photography. Mildred, the daughter of Irish immigrants, was a bookkeeper before being married and helping to run the business when the Austins moved to Brevard and opened a shop in 1925.

Their children were born in the various locations where they lived: Bill in Oneida, NY in 1921, Jeannette in McMinnville, TN in 1922, Pat in Brevard, NC in 1927, and Joan in Brevard, NC in 1929. The shop, originally called Austin’s Studio, first opened in the upstairs of the Lawrence Building on Jordan Street in 1925 and remained there until 1930. They offered Kodak cameras and equipment, photo processing, custom framing, and professional photography services.

Next, Austin’s moved upstairs to 22 Broad Street in the McMinn building, where it remained until 1939. The final move was to 11 East Main Street, where it stayed for the next 59 years. The 2021 business in the same location is “The Cherry Tree” today. The Wilkins Insurance Agency (which has undergone numerous name changes), was also operating out of the same location. William Austin managed the insurance agency, as confirmed by the 1930 Census which lists his occupation as “Insurance Office Manager.” Photography presumably became more successful, because by the 1940 Census, his occupation listing had changed to “Photographer, Employer.”

Tragedy struck the Austin family in 1954 when both William and Mildred were killed in an automobile accident after being hit by drunk driver on the way back from an Army reunion in Indiana. Their now-adult children came together to run the business in their parents’ absence: Pat was the photographer, Jeannette was the store manager, Joan was the bookkeeper, and Bill, along with Joan’s husband Dick Keirstead, was the custom picture framer. In addition, they were each very artistically and musically talented and involved in civic organizations in the community.

In 1959, Austin’s gave the store a major remodel and rebranded to the name “Austin’s Art Shop” to reflect new services and merchandise related to music such as records, instruments, accessories, sheet music, and instructional books.  They closed their doors in 1998 when Jeannette died of tuberculosis, though it was also the beginning of the digital age of photography and was seen as the right time to bow out.

In 2003, the Austin family donated their extensive historic photo collection to the Transylvania County Archives (a division of the JHPC). When the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room was built as part of the new library building in 2006, the photo collection fell under the stewardship of the county library. The Picturing the Past column would not be possible without this generous donation from the Austins.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Gardner. For more information, comments, or suggestions, contact NC Room staff at ncroom@transylvaniacounty.org or 828-884-1820.