The Mast Story
Origin
Valle Crucis, pronounced “valley crew-sis,” received its name in 1842 from an Episcopal bishop, who was looking for a location to establish a mission in the western part of North Carolina. Bishop Levi Sillman Ives reportedly saw a St. Andrew’s Cross formed by the confluence of three creeks on the valley floor, or as another report states, a cross formed by fog arose from the creeks. Either way, the isolated community became known as “the Valley of the Cross.”
Due to its isolation and rugged features, Valle Crucis remained sparsely populated through much of the 1800s, but those who called this mountain valley home needed a place to trade for goods they couldn’t make themselves. Henry Taylor moved from the community of Sugar Grove, which is about five miles away, and set up a retail business in the 1850s. He took on a partner before the Civil War, and the store became known as the Taylor & Moore General Store. Mr. Moore moved on sometime after the Civil War.
In 1883, Henry Taylor needed to grow the store. That's when he built what is now referred to as the "Middle Room" of the Original Store in Valle Crucis. As it turns out, he had to enlarge it again - by about another 20 feet or so - soon after it was constructed. If you look closely at the floor on a visit, you can see where the original entrance was. When more needs for additional inventory were recognized, rooms to accommodate the community's doctor, storage, produce, animal feed, etc., were constructed.
In 1897, Taylor sold half interest in the store to W. W. (William Wellington) Mast, a member of another pioneer family. The store was known as the Taylor and Mast General Store up until 1913, when the remaining half of the enterprise was purchased by W. W. Mast. From then on, the sign over the door has always had Mast in the name.
History
For the next 60 years, the store was owned and operated by the Mast Family. During that time, W. W. and his family tried to carry everything their neighbors needed... from plow points to cloth and cradles to caskets, which led to the popular saying, “If you can't buy it here, you don't need it.”
The Original Mast Store, Valle Crucis, Circa Early 1950
Though you might not know it today, Valle Crucis was once a bustling community. Boasting two very well appointed general stores since 1909, when the Watauga Supply Company, later renamed the Valle Crucis Company, was built by R. L. Lowe. It had one of the first car dealerships in the county and a garage to work on the cars the people from off the mountain brought with them on trips to spend several weeks enjoying the scenery.
The Valle Crucis Community Club was very active in promoting the valley as a tourist destination and touted such activities as riding, driving, swimming, and quoits (a game similar to horseshoes) as early as 1927.
In 1930, W. W. signed a contract with Standard Oil (later known as Esso or Exxon) in New Jersey to have gas at the store. By the 1970s, the Mast Store was one of Standard Oil's longest-term retailers. Exxon featured an article on the store in its travel magazine and also helped with providing assistance for its listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Credit was extended to all who needed it, and payments were often made in trade (a chicken for a sack of flour, and so on). If you wander back in the store, you can see the chicken hatch door in the floor. "In the floor?" you may ask. "That seems like an awfully funny place to put a chicken coop." As the story goes, a couple of young boys took a chicken to the Farthing Store, now the Mast Store Annex, and traded with them for merchandise. Their chicken was duly weighed and put out back in the chicken coop. When the storekeeper wasn't watching, they took their just-bartered chicken back and brought it to the Mast Store to trade it again. Therefore, the hatch at the Mast Store was put beneath the floor and secured from the outside to prevent those individuals who wanted to get more than they bargained for.
In addition to being the community gathering place, the store also served many other needs over the years. It provided an office for Dr. Perry - one of Watauga County's first doctors. It was a place for wildcrafters to bring their roots and herbs in exchange for store credit. And in the aftermath of the 1940 Flood, it provided a site for mourners to gather to honor the memory of their lost loved ones. Operation of the store was passed from W. W. to his son Howard, who continued to run the business in the long-established manner of providing for the needs of the community. Howard passed it along to his son, "H."
The Original Mast Store, Valle Crucis, Circa 1973
The store was sold by the Mast Family in 1973 to a doctor from Atlanta and a professor at Appalachian State University. Around about that same time, the site was named to the National Register of Historic Places as one of the finest remaining examples of an old country general store.
In November of 1977, the doors were closed presumably just for the winter season with hopes of reopening in April of 1978. However, plans did not pan out. Many residents of Valle Crucis banded together in an effort to save the old store and Exxon even helped with the drive to preserve the landmark.
John and Faye Cooper purchased the Mast Store and reopened it in June of 1980. Since that time the store has regained its reputation as "the store that had everything." The Valle Crucis Post Office reopened in October of 1980, thus giving the valley back its identity. And the rest, as they say, is history.
The Continuing Story
The First 94 Years of the Mast Store Were Just the Beginning
In 1977, when the Original Store closed its doors that fall with plans to open the next spring, some knew what was coming… and it wasn't the re-opening in April. But, what they didn't see was a time when the store would become just as important to folks who live hours away as it had been, and continues to be, to its home community.
John and Faye Cooper circa 2000
A young couple from Florida with ties to the mountains found out that the old store was for sale. They had walked across its creaking floorboards and were fascinated by the old posters on the walls, the oil cans and farm implements on the high walls, and its genuine personality, that's the store AND the people.
John and Faye Cooper purchased the store in 1979 and set out on a journey of discovery. They moved their young family into the top two floors of the store and began the work of preparing to open. There were many questions, but the two most important were: 1. What do we need to do to fit in with our community? And 2. What would an old general store carry that is still useful to our neighbors? That's where they started.
They listened to the locals as they dropped by to see what was happening behind the crooked walls of the old store. Next, they contacted the Mitchell Powers Hardware Co., a company that had served the store since the early 20th century, to see what they carried in their collection that would fit well at the store. They picked tin pails, washboards, nuts, bolts, nails, Saturday Night Specials (that’s a washtub big enough to be used as a bathtub), and expanded the collection as they could.
When the doors were flung open on June 6, 1980, there were two rooms filled with merchandise that would serve the local community and even a little that would be of interest to those from afar. Milk, bread, cast iron, feed, chicken scratch, mouse traps, locally-made bonnets, berry baskets, overalls, etc.; it was a long list of a bunch of little things.
More and more locals started to come back in, and the word spread about the Mast Store being open again. The next chore to accomplish was re-opening the post office, which was high on the list of important things the locals wanted. Once a community loses its post office, it's not long before it falls off of maps and out of people's memories. Valle Crucis is an important place, and it was important for its official sense of place to be recognized.
John, Faye & Lisa Cooper
After several tries, the Valle Crucis, NC 28691 Post Office was re-instated as a contract station of the Banner Elk Post Office. It is the only way to have a Valle Crucis mailing address because the valley is split up into three different rural delivery addresses: Sugar Grove, Banner Elk, and Vilas.
A local realtor's letter touted the re-opening (written in 1980) Recently, a part of Watauga County's past has been brought back to life. The Mast General Store in Valle Crucis, NC, is now open and offers a delightful return into a nearly forgotten time. Whether it's your weekly shopping that needs attention or just your curious nature, you are sure to find the Mast Store a pleasant experience.
News articles regarding the store's opening appeared in newspapers locally and off the mountain… even in the Coopers' former hometown of St. Petersburg. Travelers were already validating their ticket for time travel at the Mast General Store, but in late 1986 and early 1987, two articles helped even more people meander our Broadstone Road. In November, Southern Living ran a short story about Howard Mast, the Mast Store, and the Mast Farm Inn. In mid December and early January, travel journalist Charles Kuralt began his syndicated column with… "Where should I send you to know the Soul of the South? I think I'll send you to the Mast General Store." Running in papers across the country, tourists wanting to slow down came from every nook and cranny you can think of, and all were carrying a copy of Kuralt's article.
Sustainability
The Mast Store realizes that we all need to do what we can to move toward sustainability. But, we also realize that in some aspects, it is difficult, if not impossible, to proclaim that you are truly sustainable. With that said, we are doing the best that we can and trying to do better as we can.
Sustainability is the ability to endure and to remain productive while lessening any negative effects on the environment, culture, etc.
From an environmental perspective, the Mast Store seeks out avenues to recycle our paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, and metal waste. Our fluorescent light bulbs are recycled. We offer our employees incentives to consider alternative transportation to work—walking, carpooling, biking, or taking public mass transit.
Our buildings are older and utilize existing infrastructure to reduce the need for new construction and sprawl.
The Mast Store gives back to our communities in three major focus areas—arts, environmental, and human services. We encourage our employees to give their time to groups that they are passionate about by paying for up to 8 hours of volunteer time each year. And, we also have a matching funds program to encourage monetary donations.
Our fixtures that are constructed in-house are made of reclaimed wood or lumber from sustainable forestry sources.
Employee Owned Since 1995
Many family businesses face the dilemma of how to make sure the business continues after the original owners have moved on. Some pass it to their children, while others make no provisions at all.
"Who helps carry on the traditions of the general store every day?" was a question John and Faye Cooper asked themselves when they were trying to determine their next steps. The Coopers made the decision to pass the store to their daughter, Lisa, who is now the president of the organization, and to the employees, who are integral in every aspect of the business. So, each year, the individuals who help you find the best shoe for your activity or the right gift for that someone special are earning shares of the business.
More Mast General Stores
In the late 1890s and the early 1900s, there were several Mast Stores in the area. They were owned and operated by Mast brothers and cousins. In the 1980s, "new" Mast Stores began appearing.
Our growth as a business is slow and measured. We always want to make sure that we know and understand our new communities before moving into a new one, so current plans call for growing a new "old" location about every 3-5 years.
