Corner of Valley and Main Streets ~ 1915

Shown here are Scottsville’s tranquil Valley and Main Streets in the early 1900’s before automobiles changed the landscape and traffic patterns. See the image below as a guide to these specific buildings:

1. Dickenson’s Drug – On the corner of Valley Street and West Main.
2. Carlton House – Built c. 1840 and served as a Civil War Hospital. In this photo, the building contained 2 businesses: Dickenson’s Drug Store at the corner of Valley Street and West Main, and the Carlton House Hotel at the center entrance with a lobby on the first floor and stairs leading to rooms upstairs.
3. National Bank of Scottsville – David Pitts served as President with Walter Dorrier as cashier.
4. Post Office and Griffin Building – Constructed c. 1840, these two identical brick buildings appear to be one structure. In this photo, there is a sign hanging at the building’s south corner that reads ‘Bruce’s Drugstore’, and the town post office was located in this building from 1884-1914.
5. S. Phillips Livery – The Valley Street stables serving the James River and Kanawha Canal were burned by Union soldiers during the occupation of Scottsville in March 1865. S. Phillips rebuilt his livery on the corner of Valley and Main Streets. In this photo, a large poster with a picture of a roaring tiger advertises the July 17th appearance of the Mighty Haag Circus in town. According to John Randolph Phillip’s book, Of Town and the River, “the Mighty Haag raised their tents on the big lot next to where the Post Office now stands” on West Main Street. By the 1940’s, a filling station for automobiles occupied this corner where the livery once stood.
6. Travelers’ Rest Hotel – This wood-framed hotel was built about 1909 by Jacinto V. Pereira, who was also the President of Fidelity National Bank on Valley Street. Pereira lived in this hotel until his death in the early 1920’s. A disastrous fire in February 1976 consumed this hotel, burning it to the ground along with the adjoining filling station.
7. Sclater’s Hardware Store – Located in the east entrance of the Travelers’ Rest Hotel, this hardware store was run by two brothers, Nathan and Wirt Sclater. Earlier, Sclater Hardware had occupied the north entrance of the Carlton House on Valley Street.

Copyright © 2018 by Scottsville Museum

Image Located On: Capturing Our Heritage, CDB17
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