Before lighting the birthday candles, the Mast General Store might want to get a few dozen fire extinguishers handy.
The legendary store in Valle Crucis, the cornerstone of a seven-store chain, celebrated its 125th birthday on June 5.
The store hosted a Boone Area Chamber of Commerce “Business After Hours” event to commemorate the store’s longevity.
The date was selected to recognize the relaunching of the store by owners John and Faye Cooper, since historic records were sketchy about the original opening date.
The store, located on Broadstone Road near the Watauga River, is nationally recognized for its architecture, as well as its place in the community’s history. Many adornments and signs date back to the store’s role as the “Everything-you-need” shopping outlet.
The Mast General Store has been a fixture of the Valle Crucis community since 1883. File photo
The Mast General Store was built in 1882 by Henry Taylor and opened in 1883.
Taylor had moved his smaller store business from across the road and the following year brought in W. W. Mast as a partner.
Mast eventually bought out the entire business in 1913 and it stayed in the family for 60 years.
The store lived up to its tag of “general,” offering all manner of hardware, clothing and food, often bartering or allowing local families to get a line of credit.
It was also a community center, housing a post office and bringing people together for storytelling and games around the wood stove.
The site was named to the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1970s, when the Mast family sold the business. The store closed in 1977 and remained vacant until current owners John and Faye Cooper took over in 1980.
The Coopers proceeded to expand the operation though its message of “Quality Goods, Fair Prices and Old-fashioned Friendly Service.”
The Mast Store Annex was opened in 1982; the Old Boone Mercantile was opened in 1988; the Little Red Schoolhouse behind the original store was opened in 1989; the Waynesville store was opened in 1991; the Hendersonville location was opened in August 1995, and a store in Asheville opened in 1999.
The first Mast Store location outside of North Carolina is located on Main Street in Greenville, S.C. and opened in March 2003.
The newest location, which opened in August 2006, is in Knoxville, Tenn. The company has also built a far-reaching Internet sales presence.
