The Original Mast General Store

Valle Crucis, North Carolina

Circa 1950

The Valle Crucis location was added to the National Historic Register of Places

 April 3, 1973.

The Mast General store, a historic Southern icon, has a rich history spanning over a century, beginning in Valle Crucis.  The original store was founded in 1883 by Henry Taylor and referred to as the Taylor General Store.  It eventually became known as the Mast General Store after W. W. Mast took over in 1913.  The store was a vital part of the community, offering a wide variety of goods and services.  It became known for its slogan, "if you can't buy it here, you don't need it".

The original Mast Store carried everything from cradles to caskets.

In 1988, the first store outside of Valle Crucis opened in Boone, North Carolina. In 1991-2005, additional stores opened in the folllowing NC communities .. Waynesville, Hendersonville, Asheville and a smaller Candy and More concept store in Blowing Rock.

The Mast General Store continues to operate with eleven locations across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.  Mast General Stores are recognized by the National Register of Historic Places as one of the best remaining examples of the general store concept. It is still the center of the community housing the post office in Valle Crucis and offering coffee for 5 cents on the honor system.  

The store sells commodities such as home goods, outdoor clothing and gear, footwear, work clothes, old-fashioned wind-up toys, regional books and music, honey and more than 500 varieties of old-fashioned candy! 

Candy! Galore!

And More Candy!

Mast General Store

402 S. Gay Street 

Knoxville, Tennessee

The City of Knoxville was the first capital of Tennessee.  The plat for the town was surveyed by Charles MClung and included provisions for a town common along the waterfront, a church, a graveyard and a school which was chartered as Blount College in 1794 which was the beginning of the University of Tennessee.

Described as an "alternatively quiet and rowdy river town", Knoxville for a time was indeed part of the Wild West.  The infamous Kid Curry, a member of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, was arrested and held in Knoxville's jail.  He later escaped and galloped out of town on a horse he stole from the sheriff.

Manufacturing and distributing became an important part of the local economy for Knoxville with the Tennessee River and the rail lines making much of the city's growth possible.  Gay Street was the center of commercial development and was lined with stores, warehouses, stables and more.  And then came the Million Dollar Fire of 1897.

It was 4 a.m. in the morning when flames were seen leaping through the roof of the Hotel Knoxville located right where the Mast General Store is today.  The fire department scrambled and got as many boarders out as possible.

Knowing the fire could get out of control, the fire department in Chattanooga was contacted and their pumper made the journey to Knoxville aboard a train in record time (at speeds topping 90 miles per hour).  One building had to be dynamited to control the blaze. By the end of the day, only five lives were lost, the Chattanooga Fire Department returned home to cheers and two blocks of Gay Street lay in smoldering ruins.  The losses were valued at $1 million and the cause is yet undetermined. 

Out of the ashes arose the building residents and tourists see today on Gay Street though when the building was rebuilt, it was home to the McNulty Grocery and Dry Goods Co.  In 1901, M.M. Newcomer's Department Store made the move from across the street into the buildng at 402 South Gay Street.  It was one of Knoxville's bigger stores.

As an interesting aside to the history of the actual building, the original Mast Store in Valle Crucis had a long relationship with Knoxville, which makes the store on Gay Street even more interesting.  In perusing the invoices for goods purchased for the shelves from 1902 until 1920, numerous invoices had Knoxville addresses. One of the addresses is just down the street at what is now the Downtown Grill and Brewery.  In the early 1900s, it was Woodruffs, a wholesale and retail house for all kinds of goods.  

In 1932, the Knox Dry Goods Store replaced M.M. Newcomers.  Through the years it provided all kinds of goods and services including a beauty shop on the second floor.   Knox Dry Gods modernized its name in 1954 becoming known as The Knox.  It was a mainstay in the downtown area until 1977 when The Boston Store moved into the building.

The Mast General Store opened in August 2006. 

Knoxville is now a city offering sophistication along with down home style.  When visiitng the area, stop in at the Visitor Center to enjoy the Blue Plate Special.  It's not something you eat, but rather a heapin' helpin' of good music, plus you'll discover all kinds of places you'll want to visit.  

Sidenote:  Information about The Boston Store and its history will appear on this blog as one was in Erie, Pennyslvania and many other U.S. cities.