Travel Date: July 2019
Written By: Brandy Caitlyn
The blog of the day is about one of the oldest Mast General Stores in the state of North Carolina!
This location address is off of Highway 194, Valle Crucis NC.
I visited this location around July 2019 and will say it is very unique with all of its history it holds. Now I enjoy going to the Mast General stores no matter how old they are or the town location because of the atmosphere. There is something about a store with old candy, old pop drinks and the aesthetic of being in a different era almost.
I took this adventure with my amazing step mom. To get to the store we went towards the small town of Valle Crucis which is near Banner ElkT. Finding the location it felt like you were driving into no where with mountains all around.
As we were driving down the road we spotted it and the Annex that is just up the road from the Mast General store itself.
We went into the store and explored everything, from the still operating post office to the candy section. Nothing was missed.
🔥 Knowledge Bomb Block 🔥
Now knowing all about something is one of the most important parts about traveling to the location!
- They started building it in the year 1882-1883, making it the oldest one built.
- There is a legend attached to this first built store that the land around this area was traded for a dog, a rifle and a sheepskin (weird I know)
- It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in the year 1973.
- There is an Annex building built just down the street (2/10 mile down the road) that holds more items such as clothing, gear and more!
- The Mast General store has a operational old post office inside!
This is me standing in front of the oldest Mast General store doors. Looking at the exterior of the building most people are able to see the history and notice that the building is older than what we build in our era. The wood is settling, the paint is chipping and the doors are large and old. But it is so beautiful.
If you look at the sign you can see the originality of it and the rust from how long it has sat there through each century that it has withstood.
This is a sign placed on the front door of the location showing that it has been added to the National Registry of Historical places! This is a strong honor as it brings the attention of all individuals who love to travel too old historic places!
This is a picture taken of the Valle Crucis operational old post office just after you enter the front doors! You can see the small mailbox, tiny jail cell looking door and the hours of operation!
It is very unique as most post offices are not in a building built in 1883 and most post offices do not still have this old era look to it!
The entire inside area of this location has the old wood, old signs and everything you would think it would be back in the day!
Not only does it have old signs and items that you can buy that are general things you expect, it also has section of nuts and bolts that you would be able to purchase out of bins.
One of my favorite staples of the mass general stores is being able to purchase old time candy and drinks. Now I do not have a picture in the Valle Crucis location with a pop drink, but I do have one from the location in Waynesville NC.
As you can see from looking at the photos this location and all of the Mast General stores are fairly old and full of history. You can take a trip to one of the many locations that will be listed below and get a nice cold soda pop, some popcorn, old candy and many trinkets!
Mast General Store Locations
- Original Mast General Store, Highway 194 in Valley Crucis NC
- Annex (near the Original Mast General Store)
- Asheville location, 15 Biltmore Ave Asheville NC.
- Boone Location, 630 West King St Boone NC.
- Columbia location, 1601 Main St Columbia NC.
- Greenville (SC) location, 111 N Maine St Greenville SC.
- Hendersonville location, 527 N Maine St Hendersonville NC.
- Knoxville location, 402 South Gay St Knoxville TN.
- Roanoke location, 401 South Jefferson St Roanoke VA.
- Waynesville location, 63 N Maine St Waynesville NC.
- Winston-salem location, 516 North Trade Street Winston-salem NC.
Each one of these locations has their own unique date that it was built all in the late 1800s to early 1900s. They expanded from the state of North Carolina to South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia!
A Travel Loving Momma 