What Is the Sylva Heritage Walk?
The Sylva Heritage Walk is a free, self-guided photographic journey through the past of Main Street in downtown Sylva, North Carolina. Historic images are mounted on shops and buildings along Main Street, and each one shows what stood at that spot decades ago—from early-1900s storefronts and Depression-era department stores to the 1951 Jackson County Centennial parade and President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1936 visit. This guide shares the stories behind each photo.
Where to Start the Heritage Walk
You can start the Heritage Walk at any point along Main Street. If you'd like to walk a loop, this guide is arranged in order from the east end of Main Street, where ample parking is available. Cross Main Street and begin walking west toward the Jackson County Courthouse on the hill. Photo locations are listed by their West Main Street address.
Heritage Walk Photo Stops
482 W. Main St.: J.S. Higdon's Ford Garage
J.S. Higdon's Ford garage was located in the building that housed Western Auto for years and where End of Main is now. Higdon, a blacksmith, was the first car dealer west of Asheville and also the town's first mechanic. To boost car sales in 1914, he drove a Model T up the Courthouse steps.
Courtesy of Betty Foxx
486 W. Main St.: 1950 Homecoming Parade
A Western Carolina University homecoming parade is taking place in this 1950 view of the east end of Main Street. According to The Sylva Herald, “the marching musicians from Western Carolina Teachers College” were followed by the car of WCTC President Paul Reid and Sylva Mayor Hugh Monteith.
Courtesy of Special Collections, Hunter Library, Western Carolina University
492 W. Main St.: Sossamon's Furniture Co. and the Carolina Hotel
Sossamon's Furniture Co., shown here in the 1940s, was owned by Boyd Sossamon and once occupied most of the old Carolina Hotel building. Sossamon first moved a few doors west around 1990 and then to Mill Street before closing around 1998. The 40-room hotel, originally called the New Jackson, was built by J.S. Higdon.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
506 W. Main St.: Main Street in the 1920s
This Main Street view dates from the 1920s. The buildings that now house The Sylva Herald are the first two visible on the left; at that time, the first building was Tuckasegee Motors, a Willys-Knight/Overland dealership, and the second was the McGuire dental offices. Buildings on the right-hand side of the street include Sylva Supply Co. (now Blue Ridge Bootleg Coffee), as well as those that housed Jackson Hardware (now The Mountain Laurel Shop) and The Paris (now Carly and Cass).
George Sherrill photo, courtesy of Ann Melton
512 W. Main St.: East End Sidewalk Construction, 1971
Main Street's east end was undergoing sidewalk construction in 1971. Businesses operating at that time included, from left, Campbell Electric Co., owned by Claude Campbell, which moved to Schulman Street in 1975 and closed in 1991; David Parker's Blue Ribbon Shoe Store; Thrift-tee Discount; Home Credit; Sossamon Furniture; and Western Auto, which was then owned by Ed Wilson and closed in 1989.
Businesses in those buildings today:
- Livingston's Photo – formerly Campbell Electric and Blue Ribbon Shoe Store
- Balsam Falls Brewing Co. – formerly Thrift-tee Discount (which before was Karp's and after was Jay-Gee's, Annie's and Mainstreet Bakery)
- Lucky's Men's Haircuts – formerly Home Credit
- Currently vacant – formerly Sossamon's
- The Cut Cocktail Lounge and End of Main – formerly Western Auto
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
518 W. Main St.: David's Clothing Store
David Schulman's clothing store, David's, was located in the former Campbell Electric Co. and Blue Ribbon Shoe buildings from the mid-1970s through about 1990.
Courtesy of David Schulman
526 W. Main St.: Looking West in the Mid-1950s
Looking west down Main Street during the mid-1950s, downtown shops across from The Sylva Herald offices included Jackson Furniture, right, and Schulman's Department Store. At that time there was still two-way traffic on the street; the current one-way traffic pattern did not begin until July 1956. The Jackson Furniture building later housed Livingston's Photo for around three decades and is still part of Livingston Kelley's photo and framing operation. First Penumbra Gallery and now Harry Alter Books moved into the former Schulman's location.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
528 W. Main St.: Schulman's Department Store
Inside Schulman's Department Store during the 1940s are, from left, Bennie Reese Sr., a traveling salesman, Sol Schulman and Lucy Bumgarner. Schulman opened the store in this location on Jan. 4, 1933, and celebrated his 90th birthday in the store in March 2002 after almost 70 years in business. Sol Schulman died in November 2003.
Sol Schulman and his sons, David and Herbert, were all Main Street merchants at one time. Sol's store (now Harry Alter Books) stayed in business for 69 years, and David operated his store, David's, from the mid-1970s until about 1990 in what is now Livingston's Photo.
Courtesy of David Schulman
530 W. Main St.: The A&P Grocery
Grocery stores were once a fixture on Sylva's Main Street. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P) opened around 1926 and is believed to have first been located in the Carolina Hotel building (which now houses several businesses, including Lucky's Men's Haircuts) before moving into this building, where it stayed for almost 30 years. The man in the center is T. Walter Ashe, who worked at the store for a year around 1930.
The A&P moved to the east end of town in 1956, and then to a much larger building at Sylva Plaza in 1978. The store closed in January 1998 after more than seven decades in Sylva. Other Main Street grocery stores included Winn-Dixie, which operated in town from around 1940 until 1963, and Sylva Supply Co., which sold groceries for the first half of the 20th century.
Courtesy of Ray Ashe
536 W. Main St.: Late-1940s Christmas Parade
In this image from a late-1940s Sylva Christmas parade, the trees in front of the Courthouse are still small, Belk's is in the present Carly and Cass location, and the A&P is still across from what was then Allison's and is now The Sylva Herald. Other businesses visible include Sylva Supply Co. and Hale's Dress Shop.
Courtesy of Special Collections, Hunter Library, Western Carolina University
539 W. Main St.: Main Street in the 1920s
This Main Street view also dates from the 1920s. The buildings that now house The Sylva Herald are the first two visible on the left. At that time, the first building was Tuckasegee Motors, a Willys-Knight/Overland dealership, and the second was the McGuire dental offices. Buildings on the right-hand side of the street include Sylva Supply Co. (now Blue Ridge Bootleg Coffee), as well as those that housed Jackson Hardware (now The Mountain Laurel Shop) and The Paris (now Carly and Cass).
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
543 W. Main St.: Allison's Auto and Appliance
The Sylva Herald building had a different look in 1941, when Dan Allison's auto and appliance business was located in the McGuire Building. After Allison's moved down Main Street in the late 1940s (Lulu's on Main is there now), downstairs tenants included Elsie Massie's dress shop, which closed in 1980. When the dress shop moved out, the McGuires moved their dental offices down from the upper stories into the first-floor offices, where they stayed for about a decade until their current building on King Street was completed. Lawyers' offices then occupied the space until the newspaper expanded its operations from the building next door in 1997. Allison's employees pictured include Lonnie Jones, driver, and Earl Norton.
Courtesy of Daniel Allison
546 W. Main St.: The Paris
The Paris, a clothing store that was part of Sylva's downtown for about a dozen years beginning in 1917, is decorated for Christmas in this image. It comes from a postcard inscribed “The Paris, Your Department Store – Use It, Sylva, N.C.” The Paris was actually located next door, in the building at 552 W. Main St.
Courtesy of Steve Cory
552 W. Main St.: Belk Department Store
Belk department store operated in this location from 1943 until 1953, when the store moved to the west end of Main Street in the building that is currently vacant. Herbert Landis, for whom Landis Street is named, managed the store from 1943 until 1971, when he was succeeded by his son-in-law, Lloyd Cowan.
Courtesy of Belk Co.
556 W. Main St.: 1951 Centennial Crowds
Downtown Sylva was crowded during the 1951 Jackson County Centennial parade. Area residents were encouraged to wear period dress during the weeklong celebration. Businesses visible include, from left, Eagle's 5 & 10 in the old Jackson Hardware building (now The Mountain Laurel Shop), Belk in the former Paris location (now Carly and Cass), and Hale's Store for Women (now Baxley's Chocolates).
Courtesy of Special Collections, Hunter Library, Western Carolina University
563 W. Main St.: The Sylva Herald, 1956
The Sylva Herald, Jackson County's oldest newspaper, is pictured here in 1956. Other businesses visible include a Rexall drug store and Elsie's, a dress shop owned and operated by Elsie Massie on the ground floor of what was then the McGuire Building, with the McGuire dental offices upstairs. That building was once three full stories, with a large meeting room on the third floor, but a portion of the top story collapsed after a heavy snow in 1960. Herald owner Jim Gray purchased the McGuire Building in 1997. The building on the right is David Schulman's Downtowner Building, which once housed Winn-Dixie, Sylva Pharmacy and The Bookstore.
Courtesy of Special Collections, Hunter Library, Western Carolina University
564 W. Main St.: The Leader
Thought to date from the late 1950s, this photo shows The Leader, a clothing store once operated on Main Street by Ben Lessing. Hal Dennis, who opened Dennis Men's Store next door in 1965 in the space once occupied by Frank Frick's men's clothing store, expanded into The Leader's space with his Ladies Store after The Leader closed. The building is now home to Black Balsam Outdoors.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
570 W. Main St.: President Franklin D. Roosevelt Visits Sylva
Thousands turned out to welcome President Franklin D. Roosevelt—in the first car, waving his hat to the crowd—to Sylva on Sept. 9, 1936. Roosevelt is the only U.S. president to have ever visited Sylva. All of the buildings visible are still standing except the one that housed Stovall's Cafe, then located to the right of the C.J. Harris Building (center), which at that time housed Sylva Supply Co. and is now home to Blue Ridge Bootleg Coffee. The Stovall building was torn down around 1938 and replaced by a new cafe; that structure is now part of Black Balsam Outdoors.
Courtesy of Special Collections, Hunter Library, Western Carolina University
581 W. Main St.: Massie's Furniture Co.
Massie's Furniture Co. occupied the current Sassy Frass location on the corner of Main and Spring streets for some 81 years, from 1932 until 2013. It was initially operated by T.N. Massie and Leon Sutton. Jeannette Hensley purchased the store in 1970 and operated it until she retired in late 2013 and the store closed.
Courtesy of Jeannette Hensley
582 W. Main St.: Sylva Supply Co.
Sylva Supply Co., shown here in the 1960s, closed its doors on June 1, 1999, after 101 years as a Main Street mainstay. Crystal Cogdill opened Jackson's General Store in the same location a few months later. The building was constructed by early entrepreneur C.J. Harris in 1902 to house Sylva Supply, which had opened in 1898 where First Citizens Bank is now. Sylva Supply served as a commissary store for the Harris-Reese Tannery, which Harris opened in 1901 at the present Jackson Paper location.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
594 W. Main St.: 1951 Centennial Parade
A large crowd turned out for Jackson County's September 1951 Centennial Parade down Main Street. This view shows the Main Street/Spring Street intersection, with Professional Drugs located where B&B's is now.
Courtesy of Special Collections, Hunter Library, Western Carolina University
600 W. Main St.: Sylva Pharmacy
Sylva Pharmacy, operated by Gilbert Bess, was once located on Main Street in the building that now houses Hollifield Jewelers. The stairway to the right led upstairs to the law offices of E.P. Stillwell Sr. and David Stillwell. Main Street was still unpaved when this photo was taken in the early 1920s.
Courtesy of June Bess Anderson
610 W. Main St.: Hedden's Barber Shop
Believed to date from the mid-1950s, this photograph shows five Clayton boys getting haircuts at Hedden's Barber Shop, where Snake Song is now. The sons of Terrell (seated at left) and Gertrude (right, holding Neal) Clayton, the other boys are Joe, Bruce, Dickie and Ned. The barbers are, from left, Wimpy Hyatt, Weaver Hurst, Dillard Robinson and Jeff Hedden.
Courtesy of Marion Jones
612 W. Main St.: Velt's Cafe
In front of Velt's Cafe (now Lucy in the Rye) in 1950 are, from left, Nancy Canipe, Hugh Moon and Bill Childers. Moon was the cafe's night manager at the time. Velt Wilson bought the building and opened his cafe there in the 1930s, running the business until 1957. A series of owners operated restaurants there, mostly under the Velt's name, until Stovall's 5 & 10 expanded into the building in the late 1960s. Hooper's Drug Store occupied the space into the 1980s, and Lulu's opened there in 1989.
Courtesy of Hugh Moon
620 W. Main St.: Stovall's 5 & 10
Stovall's 5 & 10, operated first by Dewey and then by Raymon Stovall, was a fixture on Main Street for more than three decades. Dewey opened the store in the 1930s, and Raymon bought it around 1946 when he arrived in Sylva. Stovall's was first located where the Friends of the Library's Used Bookstore is now. In January 1960, Raymon Stovall purchased the old Farmers Federation Building (now Lucy in the Rye) and moved his dime store down the street. The three-story Stovall's had the only passenger elevator in town except for the one at the hospital.
Courtesy of John David Stovall
624 W. Main St.: Jackson County Bank
The Jackson County Bank opened in Webster in October 1905. By the mid-1920s, the bank had moved to Sylva's Main Street, where it was first located in the C.J. Harris Building (now Blue Ridge Bootleg Coffee) until this building was built. The bank merged in 1962 with the statewide First Union National Bank. The local First Union branch was later sold to Central Carolina Bank (CCB), and SunTrust bought out CCB in 2004. The building is currently vacant.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
633 W. Main St.: Preparing for the 1951 Centennial
Jackson County was preparing for a weeklong celebration of its 1951 centennial in this view from that year. Parked cars on the left-hand side of the street face the Courthouse, as two-way traffic would continue on Main Street for another five years.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
648 W. Main St.: Jackson Savings and Loan
The Jackson Savings and Loan once operated out of the Hotel Lloyd building. Area residents posed in front of the bank when it opened in 1958 or 1959.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
670 W. Main St.: The McKee Home
The home of E.L. and Gertrude Dills McKee stood across the street on the corner of Main and Landis streets, where First Baptist Church stands now. This photograph was likely taken in 1952, when First Baptist bought the property from the McKee family. In 1958, the church built an education building behind the McKee home before the house was demolished to make way for the sanctuary, which was completed in 1965.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
705 W. Main St.: Courthouse Replica in the Centennial Parade
A replica of the second Jackson County Courthouse passes the Glenn house (current site of the Coward law office) on its way down Main Street during the county's 1951 Centennial parade. That courthouse stood in Webster on the corner of N.C. 116 and Buchanan Loop and served as the county's seat of government from its completion in 1888 until 1913, when citizens voted to “remove” the county seat from Webster and Sylva took on that role.
Courtesy of Joe Rhinehart
Main Street Municipal Parking Lot: Site of the Ritz Theatre
This photo shows Army recruits gathered in front of the old Ritz Theatre, once located in what is now Sylva's Main Street municipal parking lot, as they departed Sylva for World War II on Sept. 3, 1942.
Courtesy of Nancy Buchanan
Jackson County Courthouse
Straight ahead, the Jackson County Courthouse stands on the hill overlooking Main Street. Now the Jackson County Public Library, the historic structure was completed in 1914, the year Sylva became the county seat. The Courthouse was built by C.J. Harris, who led the charge to move the county seat from Webster to Sylva, and was completely renovated in 2010 and 2011.
Courtesy of Rachel Phillips
773 W. Main St.: The Hooper House and Jackson County Visitor Center
To the left of the Courthouse on Main Street is The Hooper House, now home to the Jackson County Visitor Center. It was built in 1906 by Dr. D.D. Hooper and served for years as both his home and office. Acquired by the Hooper House Foundation in 1999, it was remodeled to house the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center and reopened in 2002.
Courtesy of The Sylva Herald
Frequently Asked Questions About the Sylva Heritage Walk
What is the Sylva Heritage Walk?
The Sylva Heritage Walk is a self-guided tour of historic photographs mounted on shops and buildings along Main Street in downtown Sylva, NC. Each photo shows what stood at that location in the past.
Where should I start the Sylva Heritage Walk?
You can start anywhere along Main Street. To walk a loop, begin at the east end of Main Street, where ample parking is available, and walk west toward the Jackson County Courthouse on the hill.
Has a U.S. president ever visited Sylva?
Yes. President Franklin D. Roosevelt visited Sylva on Sept. 9, 1936, and thousands turned out on Main Street to welcome him. He is the only president to have ever visited Sylva.
When did Main Street in Sylva become one-way?
Main Street had two-way traffic until July 1956, when the current one-way traffic pattern began.
What is Jackson County's oldest newspaper?
The Sylva Herald is Jackson County's oldest newspaper. Its offices are on Main Street in the former McGuire Building and the building next door.
Where is the Jackson County Visitor Center?
The Jackson County Visitor Center is in the historic Hooper House on Main Street, to the left of the Jackson County Courthouse. The house was built in 1906 and reopened as the visitor center in 2002.
Heritage Walk Sponsors
The Sylva Heritage Walk is made possible by The Sylva Herald; David and Denissa Schulman (sponsors); the Main Street Sylva Association; the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce; and the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority.