The Goodwin Building on East Jordan Street

 

The Goodwin Building 2022

With the recent announcement that The Center for Women will be moving from its long-time location on East Jordan Street, there has been interest in the history of the location they occupied: The Goodwin Building.

Dr. Carey Jackson “C.J.” Goodwin moved to Brevard in 1937 along with his wife Christine. A newly licensed dentist, Dr. Goodwin originally rented an office in the Picklesimer Building before having the stone building built on Jordan Street in 1947. Street numbers were changed for many downtown areas in the late 1990s, so the original address was 15 East Jordan Street.

C.J. and Christine Goodwin had a home built on Country Club Road in 1939 and lived there until 1953 when they moved to East Main Street. During that time their two children, Judy and Jack, were born and grew up to become honor students at Brevard High School. Both C.J. and Christine were very involved in the community with C.J. serving on the Board of Directors for the Kiwanis Club, and Christine serving as the president of the Brevard Garden Club, a member of the Mathatasian Club, and a member of the First Baptist Church Fidelis Class.

The Goodwins were supportive members of the First Baptist Church, and so when they decided to move to Atlanta in 1959, they deeded their East Main Street house to the church, presumably for use as a parsonage. The Goodwin Building was sold in 1959 to a law firm: Potts, Ramsey, & Hudson. The names of the law firm partners changed over the years, but the building was consistently a law firm office until 1987 when it was sold to the First Baptist Church located right beside it. It was first occupied by The Center for Women in 2003 (under the name C.A.R.E. Pregnancy Center). The building remains in the ownership of the First Baptist Church.

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.