Small-Town Beauty

Tiny North Carolina Village Has A Picturesque Charm

DILLSBORO, N.C. – Throw out your watch, and toss away the calendar.
Time means nothing in tiny Dillsboro, a village in Jackson County, N.C., at the edge of the North Carolina Smokies.
Here, old-fashioned delights remain at the Jarrett House, an eatery and hotel established in 1884, or at the nearby Mountain Brook, an old-fashioned motor court hugging a mountainside with a quaint row of cottages nestled beneath a grove of pine trees.
Open since the 1930s, Mountain Brook comes by its name honestly: a bubbling mountain stream cuts across the inn’s property. Staying here means a throwback to earlier times, too, when there was no TV or air conditioning.
Yet, at an elevation of nearly a mile high, the only air you really need would be the breeze blowing in through the screen windows. Situated along what was once a main North Carolina route linking nearby Franklin to Sylva, Mountain Brook remains much like it was – oh, about 50 or 60 years ago.
“It’s a thing of the past that you don’t see anymore,” said innkeeper Maqelle McMahon, who runs Mountain Brook with her parents, Michele and Gus McMahon.
A narrow drive leads between cottages with wood-burning fireplaces. A short hiking trail waits in woods full of rhododendron. You can also get corn in the front office and fish for trout in a tiny pond.
Whatever you catch, you can cook – on outdoor grills. You’ll also find recipes posted on the kitchen walls of the cottages.
Ten miles away, near the heart of Jackson County, tiny Sylva boasts several blocks of shopping – plus a summertime farmer’s market – and even its own brewery.
Scenic mountains ring the countryside outlining Sylva – the courthouse town of Jackson County and a destination in its own right.
“The downtown atmosphere is awesome,” said Sheryl Rudd, 49, the wife of Heinzelmannchen Brewery braumeister Dieter Kuhn. “This is a one-stop shopping place – with a toy store, antiques, a wine shop, restaurants.”
You might also take the Sylva Garden Club’s Nature Walk, exploring Jackson Street in the center of town or the many trees of Bicentennial Park.
Much tinier than Sylva, and just a couple miles away, Dillsboro was first known as New Webster. The place became Dillsboro in 1889 to honor William Allen Dills, a town entrepreneur.
Dillsboro harbors an artist’s colony at the confluence of Scott’s Creek and the Tuckaseigee River. Here, you can shop for original artwork and meet actual artists on site.
Dinner is available at the acclaimed Dillsboro Smoke House. You might also pick up dessert at the Dillsboro Chocolate Factory.
Then, stop by the town park at Depot Square and visit the grave of “Brownie” – known around here as the “town dog.”
What you cannot miss, even if you tried, is the Jarrett House, which stands like a command post near the center of town.
Listed on the national historic landmarks register, this rambling building was constructed by the town’s namesake, William Allen Dills, and first called the Mt. Beulah Hotel.
The present name comes from R. Frank Jarrett, who bought the building in 1890s.
Over the years, this inn and restaurant became noteworthy – and not only as an overnight retreat for train travelers, shuttling between Asheville and Murphy.
Simple fame came, too, from “Miss Sallie” Jarrett, who made it a mission to make sure big portions of fried ham, red-eye gravy and buttermilk biscuits arrived on dining tables.
Today, the old-fashioned eatery continues to exude a casual elegance, as diners are served family-style with big helpings of beets, fried apples and chicken ’n’ dumplings, augmenting meals of southern fried chicken, country cured ham or deep fried mountain trout.
As well, you can still stay overnight at the Jarrett House.
Here, in the old inn, you may not have the remote pleasures of a place like Mountain Brook. But, by contrast, the historic inn does allow visitors to be within walking distance of Dillsboro’s many shops.

IF YOU GO: DILLSBORO AND SYLVA, N.C.
Carolina Mountains Outdoor Center, Dillsboro, N.C., (888) 785-2662
Dillsboro Chocolate Factory, Dillsboro, N.C., (877) 687-9731, http://www.dillsborochocolate.com
Dillsboro Tourism, Dillsboro, N.C., (828) 586-1439, http://www.dillsboronc.info
Heinzelmannchen Brewery, Sylva, N.C., (828) 631-4466, http://www.yourgnometownbrewery.com
Jarrett House, Dillsboro, N.C. (800) 972-5623, http://www.jarretthouse.com
Jackson County Tourism Authority, (800) 962-1911, http://www.mountainlovers.com
Mountain Brook, Sylva, N.C., (828) 586-4329, http://www.mountainbrook.com

UPCOMING
Sylva-After Dark: Shops and galleries stay open late, 6-9 p.m., on the first Friday of the month, including July 3 and Aug. 7. Call (828) 586-1577 or visit http://www.downtownsylva.org.