Tryon History Museum

06/02/2026

𝗧𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵.

US-176—the old Asheville Highway—still cuts straight through the middle of Tryon, and if you live anywhere near Trade Street, you already know the through-traffic never fully left. The interstate didn’t fully bypass us until 1976, but even then, it never quite stole Trade Street’s parade of cars.

On weekends, it still moves both ways in a steady stream, the kind that makes you pause at the stop sign just a little longer, watching out-of-town plates roll past a town of about 1,600.

But the traffic isn’t the only thing that stayed.

The stopping stayed, too.

Look at this 1940s photo. Cars angled into the curb. Awnings stretched over the sidewalks. People walking, crossing, lingering in the middle of the day. The mountains are there in the background, but the street itself is the destination.

Travelers didn’t just pass through Tryon. They pulled over. Bought a Coke. Picked up a prescription. Stepped inside for one thing and walked out with three conversations they hadn’t planned on.

Owen’s Pharmacy on North Trade was once rumored to have sold more than 2,000 Cokes on a busy Sunday (good thing they had so many on hand, we suppose!), handed straight out to travelers who pulled over, sometimes without even cutting the engine.

And honestly, go downtown this Saturday and you’ll see the same rhythm. Every space taken. Sidewalks full. A wait for a table on the corner. Somebody you didn’t expect to run into.

Eighty years apart, one bypass later, and it’s still the same street doing the same thing.

So help us remember it.

What made you stop when stopping in was part of the trip? Who did you buy from? Where did you sit? Which storefront pulled you in from the curb?

And help us read the photo, too. What’s still standing, and what’s long gone? We’d love to see more old pictures if you have them.

Tryon History Museum
Preserving the past. Inspiring our future. Rooted in Tryon.

05/28/2026

Spent my docent shift at the museum this afternoon, and something happened that I can't quite explain. (Heather Brady here, one of the board members who pulls a regular docent shift.)

I was at the docent desk, Nina Simone playing softly on the CD player, when two longtime Tryon natives came through the museum. They moved slowly from room to room, sharing memories and naming the people they'd grown up alongside. One of them had been born at the original St. Luke's Hospital, up on Carolina Drive. The kind of afternoon a museum is made for.

Then, from somewhere in the museum, the unmistakable sound of something ceramic hitting the floor and shattering.

I waited a moment, listening for the small embarrassed apology that usually follows. Nothing came. So I got up, walked back to where the ladies were standing, and asked lightly, "What did we decide to buy today?"

They looked at me, equally puzzled. They said the sound had come from the gift shop area. I had been sitting closer to the gift shop than they were, and to me it had clearly come from their direction.

We searched the whole museum. Nothing broken. Nothing out of place. Nothing on the floor.

It made me wonder what the old natives were trying to tell us. Or maybe just say hello.

So I'm going to ask the question we're all thinking: who else has had something a little unexplainable happen at the museum, or somewhere else around Tryon? I have a feeling we are not alone in this.

05/20/2026

We are looking for volunteers.

If you love Tryon — its history, its character, its particular sense of place — the museum is a natural home for some of your time. Volunteer roles range from helping at events and programs to supporting our day-to-day operations. There is no minimum requirement, only a genuine interest in being part of something that matters here.

For those drawn to a deeper level of involvement, we are actively recruiting for three specific roles: a Volunteer Coordinator, Docents, and Media & Creative contributors — writers, photographers, designers, and social media minds who want to put their skills toward Tryon's story.

All volunteer. All meaningful.
Visit our Volunteer page to learn more and reach out:

🔗 https://tryon-history-museum.vercel.app/volunteer

𝐴 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡𝑒: 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑤 𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑒, 𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐴 𝑓𝑒𝑤 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑚𝑎𝑦 ℎ𝑖𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑐𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑 — 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑤𝑒'𝑑 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑙𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑎𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢'𝑟𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑎𝑢𝑛𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑡ℎ.

05/04/2026

Remember our Tales of Tryon evening on the Tryon grape? Southern Living just caught up!

This week's feature on the Tryon Foothills wine country — North Carolina's newest AVA, federally recognized in 2025 — picks up a thread we've been pulling on for a while. The thermal belt. The 150-year viticultural history. The grape that was once shipped east by the crate and served at the Waldorf Astoria.

The wineries here aren't a new idea. They're the latest chapter of a much older one. Polk County was growing wine grapes when most of the country wasn't.

Read the piece, then come see the artifacts. The museum has the rest of the story.

26 Maple Street. Tryon.
Population 1,600.

It bills itself as the South’s friendliest town, and now there’s another reason to visit Tryon. Set in the first rise of the Blue Ridge, an easy drive from Asheville and Greenville, this horse-loving enclave is North Carolina’s newest wine region.

04/25/2026

Raise your hand if you knew Tryon used to be wine country. 👋

No? You're not alone.

It's one of the quieter chapters in our history — the vineyards, the growers, and the grape that shaped these hills long before the horses arrived. Sofia Lilly of Overmountain Vineyards joined us this week for an hour on all of it.

The full lecture is now on YouTube. 🎥Link in the comments.

04/23/2026

𝗛𝗢𝗥𝗦𝗘 & 𝗛𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗦: 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲

In June 2016, a capacity crowd packed Tryon International Equestrian Center to watch a chestnut Hanoverian gelding named Brunello — barn name Ike — take center ring for the unveiling of his own Breyer model horse.

It was a homecoming.

Brunello's co-owner, Janet Peterson, lived just across the state line in Landrum. And so when Breyer decided to immortalize one of the most celebrated hunters in American equestrian history, they brought him here — to the place his family called home.

By then, Ike had already made history. Three consecutive USHJA International Hunter Derby Championships (2013, 2014, 2015). Twice named USEF National Horse of the Year. A horse who made audiences go quiet mid-course, then erupt.

Four months after the Breyer debut, Brunello returned to TIEC one more time. On the new grass derby field, with rider Liza Boyd in the irons, he won the $50,000 USHJA International Hunter Derby. Boyd said later she chose that class specifically because it was close to Mrs. Peterson's home in Landrum, the weather was cool, and something told her it was going to be his day.

It was. He won.

Brunello's Breyer model — produced after his record-setting third championship — now lives at the Tryon History Museum, a small but meaningful reminder that this corner of the Carolinas has long been a gathering place for great horses and the people who love them.

Morris may be Tryon's mascot. But Brunello reminds us that the hills and valleys of this region have been drawing champions — and the people who love them — for generations.

📍 See Brunello's Breyer model on display at the Tryon History Museum.

04/22/2026

Raise your hand if you knew Tryon used to be 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺. 🍇

No? You're not alone. It's one of the quieter chapters of our history, and tomorrow evening we're bringing it back to the surface.
Sofia Lilly of Overmountain Vineyards joins us for the next Tales of Tryon — an hour on the vineyards, the growers, and the grape that shaped these hills long before the horses arrived.

Thursday, April 23
Doors 4:00, lecture 5:00
Holy Cross Parish Hall

Free. All are welcome. And we just may have treats.
See you there!

04/20/2026

𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲.

Preservation is rarely the work of one hand. It's a patchwork — stitched together over generations by neighbors, stewards, and institutions who believe a place is worth keeping.

Join us 𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟱 𝗮𝘁 𝟱:𝟬𝟬 𝗣𝗠 at the Tryon Depot for The Patchwork Quilt of Preservation with Jack Thomson, Western Regional Director of Preservation NC. Presented by the Tryon Historic Preservation Commission, in collaboration with Tryon History Museum, and supported by the Tryon Downtown Development Association.

A conversation about how small towns hold onto what matters. We hope you'll join us.

22 Depot Street, Tryon

04/19/2026

𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲 & 𝗛𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 | 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗲

On the morning of April 3, 1928, crews along Trade Street had to lift the overhead wires. Something was coming through town that was too tall to pass underneath.

In the spring of 1928, a seventeen-year-old named Meredith Lankford and his co-worker Odell Peeler spent more than a month of late nights in the basement of a cottage on Grady Avenue, building a horse.

Not a real one. A wooden one, white and mounted on wheels. It was a giant version of the little hand-painted toy horses that Eleanor Vance and Charlotte Yale's Tryon Toy Makers had been turning out since 1915, shipping them all over the country as souvenirs of a small mountain town that had quietly become synonymous with horses.

The occasion was the inaugural Tryon Horse Show at Harmon Field, sponsored by the newly founded Tryon Riding & Hunt Club under Carter P. Brown. Romaine Stone had suggested the idea. Miss Vance sketched the drawing. Lankford and Peeler did the building, working from that sketch and assembling the finished horse in the driveway at Hillcote.

When it was finally ready on April 3, they pulled him through town behind a car. He was so tall that overhead wires along Trade Street had to be lifted out of the way for the procession to pass. Reins rigged to a mechanism made him lift his head and tail as he moved. Among themselves, the boys quietly called him Eleanor, after Miss Vance, though out of respect, never to her face.
That first wooden horse was lost to fire in 1939, when the Toy Makers' workshop near the Depot burned. Three more have stood in his place since. The Morris we know today, fiberglass and faithful, has held his corner at Trade and Pacolet since 1983.

Two years from now, Morris turns one hundred.

And every wreath hung at Christmas, every child who waves from a car window, every photograph taken at that corner is a quiet continuation of something that started with two boys, a basement workshop, and a horse show that needed an announcement grand enough to match the town's ambitions.

04/16/2026

A glass, a story, an evening together.

Sofia Lilly of Overmountain Vineyards joins us next Thursday to share the history of the Tryon grape.

Holy Cross Episcopal Church · April 23 · 5:00 PM.
Refreshments will be served. All are welcome.