B&B Feed & Seed Business Boosted County's Economy

Most people who have lived in Transylvania County for over twenty years are familiar with B&B Feed & Seed, formerly located on Gaston Street.  However did you know that for approximately 40 years the owners also operated Brittain Tractor Company?

The original business opened on East Main St. on January 1, 1928.  Cousins, Willis and Trigg Brittain sold Quaker Dairy Feeds and Full-O-Pep Poultry Feed along with a full line of garden and field seed.  Trigg Brittain sold his interest in the business to Grady and Allen Brittain, brothers of Willis, in July 1931. 

B&B Feed & Seed not only survived the Stock Market Crash and Great Depression but continued to grow.  For a time the “Brittain boys” leased the Breese Mill at Maiden Hair Falls to grind corn meal, graham flour and special orders.  They aided local farmers by buying chickens and eggs for resale to markets and cream for the Biltmore Dairies, boosting Transylvania County’s economy as well.

Brittain Tractor Company on S. Gaston St., 1953.

Sometime between June 1940 and April 1941 the Brittains moved their business around the corner to 12 S. Gaston Street.  In August 1947 they expanded by incorporating the Brittain Tractor Company, an authorized dealership for Ford tractors and Dearborn farm equipment.  The new business also sold parts for tractors and farm equipment and had a small engine repair shop.

For many years Willis and Allen ran the businesses, while Grady farmed the family land in the Mills River area of Henderson County.  Later, Willis also retired to farming.  The Brittains had numerous employees through the years.  Fred Hogsed worked there for 40 years, serving as manager of the Brittain Tractor Company and the small engine repair shop for many of them.  In 1987 the Brittains sold the business to Harold Paxton, who operated it until closing in 1998. 

Interior of Brittain Tractor Company.

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.