“Once upon a time – Tobacco was King”
Let's take a stroll through downtown Wilson in the 1940’s and 1950’s - here's a glimpse back at a few of the sights and businesses you would have seen in downtown Wilson:
Huge tobacco warehouses lined the downtown streets. In the fall you would be greeted with the aroma of the flu cured tobacco. The numerous spacious tobacco warehouses were filled and refilled with the money crop of Wilson County. Farmers hauled the tobacco into the warehouses on trucks, trailers and even on mule drawn wagons. The tobacco companies sent their buyers to bid on this cured tobacco and hauled their purchases to the factories for processing. The farmers, merchants and workers had money in their pockets. The aroma was sweet to those who made money on the crops just as it was to those who smoked, dipped or chewed the golden leaf. There were reasons that Wilson, North Carolina, was known as The World’s Greatest Tobacco Market.
You would see the impressive Wilson County Courthouse, Branch Banking and Trust Company, (Branch’s Bank), National Bank of Wilson plus department stores including Belk Tylers, Oettinger’s, Leder Brothers, Charles Store and Efirds. Johnson Cotton Company. The P. D. Gold Building and The Wilson Daily Times were located (on the Goldsboro Street side) where the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office now stands. There was P. L. Woodard, Wilson Hardware, W. W. Furniture, Wilson Furniture, Swinson and Tucker Furniture.
Some of the clothing stores were Mother & Daughter, Barshays, Lamm’s Men’s Store, Leder Brothers, Moss and Company, Lisbeth’s, The London Shop, Murads, Dotty Lou’s and many more. Two major “dime stores,” F. W. Woolworth and McClellan’s, were located on Nash Street. Star Clothing, better known as “Charge It, Mr. Star,” was well known throughout Eastern North Carolina. Moviegoers had a choice of five downtown theaters: The Oasis, The Wilson, Globe, Carolina and the Drake.
Throughout downtown you would see drug stores, jewelry stores and some specialty businesses including Robbins Jewelry and Music, Denny’s Jewelry, Churchwell’s, Carter’s and Bailey’s Jewelry, several drug stores including Wilson Drug Store, Bissettes, Morrison's Drug Stores, Shades Drug Store, Terminal, and Herrings Drug Store. There was a Singer Sewing Machines tore, Jim’s Cameras, MJ Byrd's Sporting Goods, Rex Shoe Shop and then there was Wimpy’s Pool Hall and The Theater Soda Shop. A few of the restaurants were the Rainbow Restaurant, Golden Weed Grill, M & W Café, Monticello, Wilson Donut Shop, New York Café, Annex Grill, Amerson’s, Godwin’s Barbecue, and there was the Cherry Hotel and the Briggs Hotel.
Barber shops, beauty salons, attorneys, accountants, insurance agencies and news stands were throughout the city plus grocery stores including Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, M & W Grocery, Colonial Store and numerous neighborhood grocers. There were two hat shops located in downtown Wilson that designed and made hats for ladies and for gentlemen who had that flair for fashion. The front offices of the Trueblood building were occupied by E.B. Towe Insurance and W.D.P. Sharpe, Jr., Attorney.
The streets and sidewalks were bustling with cars and shoppers. Occasionally you would see a mule and wagon on the streets. Small groups gathered on the sidewalks or inside the “dime store” on cold days and they visited. People dressed in their best to go downtown. Ladies had on neat outfits and wore their high heels with hair and makeup done. Most men dressed in suits, a tie and their shoes were shined. Merchants had sidewalk store fronts beautifully decorated and displayed the latest fashion or merchandise. People stopped and talked and made plans or dates. Going downtown was a social event back in the 1940’s and 50’s and the exciting thing is that it is making a comeback.
As the bigger cities of North Carolina get more crowded and much more expensive, downtown Wilson is undergoing a revival, blending modern new state of the art buildings and facilities with an aggressive emphasis on historic preservation of the graceful older architecture that gives downtown Wilson its unique character. Some of the tobacco warehouses are being redesigned as apartment buildings or for shops, museums and arts and craft shops. The brick facades and structural woodwork of many older storefronts is also being preserved. The aroma of the cured tobacco leaf is missing today but many memories have been preserved in the museums and in the hearts of those who remember.
Scott Worthington, Ruth Ann Bailey, Sharon Durham and Mark Beckett had heard about Wilson’s changes and they came from Winston Salem and Raleigh to check out the Whirligigs and some of the many restaurants, shops, breweries and museums. After a full day downtown and ending up at the Artisan Leaf, Ruth Ann wrote: “I fell in love with Wilson one spot after another.”
The Whirligig Park is at the center of the growth and serves as an anchor for the excitement of a growing and thriving downtown Wilson. Downtown even has a designated Social District now that is being enjoyed by those who want to move freely as they enjoy an alcoholic beverage while visiting the many different art galleries, restaurants, shops, arts and crafts displays, or appreciate the streetscape art. Wilson residents in their seventies and eighties have been inspired to enroll in art classes at the Community College and are producing some amazing work.
It is exciting to see so many new restaurants and shops utilizing the old buildings for their businesses. Some historic buildings are being torn down to make way for progress but it is heartwarming to see many historic buildings in the downtown district housing restaurants, cafes, art stores, coffee shops, apartments, antique shops, museums and retail shops. Many of the old buildings are being renovated now and it will be exciting to watch downtown as it unfolds. A new state of the art YMCA with parking deck, shops and apartments is just down the street from restaurants and the new Social District.
Wilson has a rich history of supporting baseball. Fleming Stadium has served as home for the Wilson Tobs of the Coastal Plain League since 1908. But the landscape of Wilson is about to undergo the most dramatic change of all, with the construction of a new downtown baseball stadium to serve as home to the Single-A Carolina Mudcats (or whatever their new name turns out to be). Downtown minor league baseball should bring thousands of new visitors annually to downtown, and the stadium may also serve as a venue for concerts and other events. There’s no doubt, Wilson is on the move and much of the excitement of downtown is coming back.
Montress Greene
As usual, I enjoyed your post. Though I wasn't around in the 40-50s, many of the spots you mentioned were still around during my era - late 70's-80's. I remember getting Boy Scout uniforms on the mezzanine of the downtown Belks and Izod shirts at Leader Brothers clothing. I also remember the Tobacco Warehouses; my Grandfather took his tobacco to various Wilson warehouses and I went along. My job was to move the drive the truck up each time the line moved so he could go chat with his buddies. The hustle & bustle of those warehouses was fascinating.