First Automobile Dealership, 1908

By 1908, Curtis G. Logan, formerly the undertaker of Waynesville, had established the first car dealership of Haywood County. Here you can see about a dozen of Logan’s cars, available for hire, lining Main Street.

Riders could also utilize stretch bus services offered by the Independent Coach Line. Operated by Roy Martin in Waynesville, this service could bring riders from Haywood County to as far away as Atlanta (and back!). The Waynesville branch of the Independent Coach Line was located at the corner of East Street and Main Street.

Many residents of Haywood County first experienced the automobile while attending the Haywood County Fair, where in 1913 they could take a ride in a car for only 10 cents. While liveries continued to offer wagon and buggy services throughout the 1920s, the proliferation of the automobile ultimately determined the future of road developments for the area.

Photographs courtesy of Henry Foy, Louise Martin Harrison