WMS11 - O.P. Taylor's

Formerly known as the Cooper Block, Whitmire Building, and Long's Corner

History

By most accounts, this building was constructed in 1900. Many historians have admitted that they weren't sure who originally built it but surmised that it must have been Pickelsimer—mainly because the south side of the first block of West Main Street has historically been called the "Pickelsimer Block." Until now, this has been the best theory because the 1911 Sanborn map has "Pickelsimer Block" written in front of the buildings. However, it seemed unusual that these words weren't written horizontally in such a way as to appear underneath all three of the buildings from Broad towards Times Alley (WMS11, 12, and 13). It was written in such a way that only one building (WMS12) appeared to be labeled as the "Pickelsimer Block."

While researching this, it became clear that the building's occupants seemed absent from newspaper articles before 1911. However, there were frequent mentions of a "Cooper Block" in older newspaper articles and advertisements. Some of those described their location as not only in the "Cooper Block" but also on the corner of "Broad and Main." Subsequent searches for "Cooper Block" began to clarify the mysteries of its earlier years.

Due to numerous references in early ads by businesses that they were in the "Cooper Block," and given the 1911 Sanborn labeling that could be interpreted to mean a specific building, it's easy to assume that the word "block" could have been interchangeably used with the word "building." In the case of the Cooper Block, it's understandable because, when it was built, it was probably the only building on the first block of West Main's south side and also on the west side of South Broad. One early article mentioned that when the frame building for the Sylvan Valley News was built in the early 1900s (at the present-day location of SBW12b), the only other building between it and Main Street was the Cooper Block on the corner.

The building was initially constructed with a square corner at Main and Broad, but an early renovation changed this to the clipped corner entry still there today.

One of the first occupants of the building was an attorney named W.A. Gash. He had an ad in the November 30, 1900, edition of the Sylvan Valley News that he was in the "Cooper Block." The Transylvania Railroad Company had an office in the building as soon as it was completed, given that the January 26, 1900 edition of the Sylvan Valley News (as reported in the Transylvania Times on August 1, 1935) stated that they had moved from the Cooper block to the McMinn Building (WMN11). There's an interesting story about their move. The same article reported that they were removing the safe down the stairs, and it got away and "rolled down the stairs to the sidewalk without assistance or resistance. We learn that there was some rapid hustling to get out of the way."

By 1902, other tenants had begun advertising their offices in the Cooper Block. Swart & English, attorneys, had their offices on the second floor in 1902. T.W. Whitmire had a clothing and shoe store at "1,2,3 Cooper Block Main and Broad" in August 1903. Later, in 1903, attorney D.L. English and dentist Dr. J.H. McLean had offices in the building, and the Brevard Telephone Exchange had an office there.

In 1905, Dr. Goode Cheatham, MD, and Dr. Garner, MD, moved into the Cooper block, replacing the Brevard Telephone Exchange. Both doctors were on the 2nd floor. Cheatham moved from the Nichols Drug Store.

Cooper took advantage of his ownership by moving "into the comfortable rooms on the second floor" for the summer of 1904.

M.D. Cooper passed away in 1905. On December 26th of that year, his heirs sold the property to Mattie Whitmire and Mamie Verdery. The handwritten, recorded deed for this transaction said it was "in the division of real estate belonging to the late M.D. Cooper, deceased."

Whitmire and Verdery, new building owners, opened a store in June 1906 called Whitmire & Verdery, selling clothes (and many other things) at "1,2 and 3 Cooper Block." A notice appeared in the June 1907 paper that a new (unnamed) barber shop was going into the "Cooper block on Broad St". This may have shown Broad Street because the shop's entrance was on that street.

Although no explanation was found for Verdery's name missing from advertisements, an ad in the November 13, 1908 edition of the Sylvan Valley News showed that "T.W. Whitmire" was selling clothing and shoes in the "Cooper Block"

Verdery may have entered (or returned to) insurance because Wiley & Verdery moved their insurance agency to the "rear corner room" upstairs in the Cooper Block. This happened in January 1910.

In August 1911, T.T. Loftis & Sons opened their grocery store in this building, replacing the Brevard Supply Company. The 1911 Sanborn Map shows two storefronts (WMS11a – left side, WMS11b – right side). It appears that T.W. Whitmire's clothing store was in WMS11a, and Loftis was in WMS11b.

Several drug stores were destined to be in the building, beginning with Duckworth Drug, which opened on April 1, 1912. During their tenure, attorneys Charles B. Deaver, Allison & Allison, and Coleman Galloway were all in the Cooper Block (WMS11). Smith's Barber Shop moved there from the Plummer Building (WMN13) in March 1918.

In May 1919, E.M. Davis and H.R. Walker purchased Duckworth Drug's stock. They immediately changed the name to Davis-Walker Drug Company and announced the business in the Brevard News on April 25, 1919.

The building was sold again on March 29, 1920 to T.W. Whitmire, who bought it from A.M. and Mamie Verdery.

The Davis-Walker Drug Company must have sold gasoline because they installed a gas tank on the corner of Main and Broad Streets in May 1921.

By 1925, Walker had been replaced by Roy Long. No documentation was found to time-stamp this, but the Davis-Walker Drug Company became the Davis-Long Drug Store in this time frame. During this iteration of a drug store in the building, at least two other tenants moved into the second floor above Davis-Long. W.J. Fortner, an electrical contractor, opened his electric shop (with supplies and offices), and Dr. James A. Palmer, an optometrist.

Several sources have described Long's Drug store (it seems that most people referred to it that way) as having wooden booths and a counter with stools. There were wrought iron tables. It was a place where people gathered, had lunch, and enjoyed ice cream and milkshakes. For a period, Long employed curb boys, who would wear caps and aprons and go outside to make deliveries to customers on the sidewalk and in the street.

Pat Kimzey, an attorney, moved into the second floor in April 1931. Two years later, insurance salesman W.L. Hume had an office there.

Martin's Barber Shop "joined hands" with Ward's Barber Shop and News stand and moved into the right-side storefront in February 1933. Ward assumed responsibility for the newsstand and Martin took over the barber shop portion of the business. Ward's previous newsstand was where today's Main Street Barber Shop is located (WMN22). In 1973, the telephone book had shortened the business name to Ward's, still located on the right-side storefront at 5 West Main street.

Smith's Barber Shop was in the King building before moving to the right-side storefront in June 1934. Before this, the Martin and Ward "stand" was at this location. Martin ran a barbershop there (that Smith took over) and Ward's was a newsstand.

On October 8, 1935, the interior roof caught fire. It burned for hours, but it was reported that there wasn't much water damage because the crew used "a small hose instead of a large one". Occupants of the building at the time were Dr. Bradley (upstairs), Long's Drug Store and Ward's News stand.

The interior was updated in 1935, and a large window was added for light.

R.L. Gash, an attorney, moved into the second floor of the building from the Breese building on East Main Street in April 1935. He didn't stay long because D.L. English, another attorney, replaced him five months later.

An announcement was made in the July 7, 1938 edition of the Transylvania Times that a photography business, Eckenrod Studio, was opening the following week on the second floor over Long's Drug store. 

Additional exterior repairs were made in 1939, and the Broad Street side of the building was stuccoed that year by contractor R.P. Kilpatrick. Dr. Carl Hardin also repainted his dental offices on the second floor.

E.R. Black, a barber, left the building in 1941 and moved to the Aethelwold building (EMS11). R.A. Wentworth, a civil engineer, replaced Black.

In October 1952, Varner announced his purchase of Long's Drug Store. In an advertisement, he said, "both businesses will continue under the same name at the same location, under the same ownership as Varner's Drug Store." After this announcement, there were many ads for "Varner's and Long's," but Long's location at the corner of Broad and Main was often called "Long's Corner." Six years later, in 1958, Varner announced that "Long's corner at the square is being remodeled and when renovation work is completed, Eugene Morris will open Morris Pharmacy at that location." Morris opened his store on September 12, 1958 in the left-side storefront. Morris Pharmacy became Morris Drug in the 1960s. 

Morris Pharmacy had its Card & Gift Shop on the right-side of the building (WMS11b) from 1976 until 1981, when it was renamed to Morris Gift Shop. It remained there until it was replaced by Special Moments in 1987.

During this time, in August or September 1983, a health food store named Hallelujah Health Foods moved into the corner store. The back part of the store had a wall that divided it from the rear of the building, creating space for another store with a door that opened onto Broad Street. Nutcracker Sweets, selling candy and ice cream, moved into that space and opened its doors on November 8, 1984. The bathroom for the building was in Nutcracker’s store, so employees from Morris’ Gift Shop and Hallelujah Health had to use a doorway in the rear wall of Hallelujah to access it.

The building changed owners again on September 24, 1984. The sellers were "all of the heirs-at-law of T.W. Whitmire, deceased." The new owners were Sandra K. Groves and Jimmy Earl Groves.

On March 10, 1989, John Taylor and his wife, Susan Musil, bought the building from the Groves. It didn't take long before he had the aluminum awning removed from the building's front and began work to put a three-foot high brick facing on the sides and cover most of the walls above that with blue aluminum siding.  In keeping with his plan for the building to look like a structure in the 1930s, he also installed a canvas awning.

At first, John wasn't intending to open a business himself, instead planning to rent storefronts and office space. At the time he bought the building, it was still divided into two West Main street storefronts (WMS11a and WMS11b as viewed from the street).  Nutcracker Sweets was still behind a wall on the left side that separated the front part of that storefront from the rear (WMS11a (rear)). The right storefront was empty, with Special Moments having already vacated.

In May 1989, a man named Charlie Shanor opened an upscale shoe store called Shanor's On Main on the right side, which was formerly occupied by Special Moments. Some time later, Taylor had to raise the rents in the building. Nutcracker chose to move out, relocating to the Water Oaks Suites where they stayed until March 1990, when they moved to the new Princess Plaza at the corner of French Broad and Broad streets. Shanor asked Taylor about taking over the space to start a new clothing store, but he was concerned that it might be too small for his business. Taylor offered additional space on the second floor, but Shanor didn't want his customer to have to walk around (from the entrance on Broad Street) to Main Street to go up the stairs. Taylor thought about it and decided to offer Shanor space on the second floor just above the Nutcracker space, with a new stairway there to the second floor. Taylor used his chainsaw to cut a hole in the ceiling by the wall opposite the Broad Street door, where he then built a nice stairway.  

With the new stairway in place and the left rear store (accessible from Broad Street) now doubled in space, it seemed to Taylor that the space might be sufficient.  But Charlie Shanor didn't think it would work out and decided that he wouldn't open his new store there. Since Hallelujah's lease had expired,  John Taylor completed several renovations, including the removal of the wall between the front and rear spaces of the left storefront and boarding up the top of the Main Street stairway to the second floor.  Using the space vacated by Nutcracker and Hallelujah, he opened O.P. Taylor's General Mercantile on June 1,1990. It later became today's O.P. Taylor's toy store. When Shanor vacated the right storefront in 1992, Taylor expanded into that space, taking the entire building for his store.

At one point in the early days of his ownership, the second floor was empty. John was talking with some students at Brevard College and they mentioned that they needed a place for their band to practice.  He offered the second floor to them with a few conditions:  no drugs, no drinking, and no noise after 10pm. Even thought they obeyed these restrictions, the police came several times and arrested people - probably for disturbing the peace.  Decades later, a tall man with long hair and tattoos walked into the store and John noticed he was looking at the building. The man walked upstairs and looked around before finding John and asking if he was the owner. John replied that he was and the man said that he remembered when John would let his band play upstairs.  He really appreciated it.  They both had a laugh about some of the things that happened back then.  As it turned out the man was the lead singer for a Journey tribute band and was selected to replace their lead singer. Unfortunately, two weeks after he was notified they found another singer.

John Taylor was not unfamiliar with owning and managing properties in Brevard - both in and out of what is now the Main Street Historic District.  At various times, not necessarily in chronological order, he owned the Tourist Trap (WMS16) and the Sports Spot (originally in SBW11a before moving to EMS12).  He bought EMS12 from the current owner of Falls Landing (EMS13), but later sold it to the future owners of a store called Cherry Tree. He also owned Continental Divide (WMS14), the Pisgah Lanes bowling alley (on Highway 64), a housing development on Probart Street, and a soccer facility off the Old Hendersonville Highway. He and his wife also opened a restaurant they called Oh! Suzanna on West Main street where the Hob Knob restaurant used to be, and had a store called Oh! Suzanna's Store Next Door. They sold the restaurant in 1991 and closed the store because they were busy focusing on the expansion of O.P. Taylor's.