One can’t help but notice construction on the new home of Territory Brevard’s Wine Tasting Room and Market. The location on the corner of Johnson and East Main Streets has been part of the downtown landscape from the very earliest days of the county, when it was a combination of lots 34 and 36 from the original division of the planned downtown Brevard in 1861. William Aiken conveyed the lot to Mary J. Breese in 1885.

In 1902 Henrietta P. Hunt bought the land and then in 1922, she and husband C.W. Hunt, a developer from the Hendersonville Real Estate Company, conveyed the property to the newly formed real estate organization. As part of the development, that land and more surrounding it was re-divided, and the property then occupied lots 6, 7, 8, and a portion of 5. At some point, the land was purchased by Charlie Pickelsimer, who owned Citizen’s Telephone Company and its subsidiary Sylvan Valley Cable TV.

It seems a small house was on the lot for a time, according to the 1911 Sanborn fire insurance map. By 1916 the lot was empty, and by 1924 a filling station was built. The location remained a filling station for many years, though building itself was often majorly renovated or rebuilt.

The filling station passed through many hands and franchises – an Esso run by Charlie Campbell being one, and a Texaco run by Joel M. Hubbard being the second business of note.

From about 1966-1986 the Texaco station was managed by Joel McGilvery Hubbard (1933-2008), a lifelong resident of Brevard, who sold antiques after leaving the Texaco business. He was active politically and worked many places over the years including at Brevard Hardware, as a school truancy officer, and as the treasurer for the Young Democrat Club. He ran and won the position of county tax collector in 1960 and served for several years. His brother Milton Hubbard was also quite politically active and served as the county sheriff for many years.

Over time, Hubbard’s Texaco became the location where a group of men began to meet up periodically to talk about issues of the day. The group gave themselves the moniker “Joel’s Texaco Club: Transylvania County Advisors to World Leaders.” The group did not limit their conversations to politics – topics ranged wildly but all were an excuse for a group of friends to get together and enjoy each other’s company through friendly conversation.

Some meetings felt like a revival of the old tradition of the “liars club” – a cultural phenomenon that can be traced back to the “long hunters” who would tell tall tales of the hunt during the less organized days when settlers resided in what is now Transylvania County. Much in the same way, sometimes one Texaco Club member’s story would give its teller the honor of being deemed the best liar of the day. Tom Stroup was often the winner.

Frequent members included Tom Stroup, Arthur Hefner, Charles Hamilton, R. Wood Paxton, George Perkins Jr., Spud Carpenter, Lawrence Hipp, James McIlwain, Joel M. Hubbard, Chick Loftis, Don Jenkins, Ben Shiflet, Boney Davis, Blanton Ashworth, Wade Bagwell, Ed Loftis, Paul Lollis, Dave Betz, Bobby Hunter, Stacy Dermid, Steve Dense, Brian Dense, Scott Hovis, B.F. Gillespie, Lucian Deavor, Bud Coleman, and Charles Paxton.

The group was immortalized in a 1986 article in the Transylvania Times, which was published in part to say goodbye to the Texaco station after Hubbard retired to open an antiques business. The spot was also recognized as the location of the last working public pay phone in Brevard.

The building was then utilized by Sylvan Valley Cable TV as a service shop for their fleet of vehicles for many years before it then sat empty for several years before being bought by the current owners and revitalized.

Photographs and information for this column are provided by the Rowell Bosse North Carolina Room, Transylvania County Library. This article was written by Local History Librarian Laura Sperry. Sources available upon request.