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Historical artifacts should be on permanent display at county museum, Marion Jones says

By Rose Hooper
Moonshine Marion Jones has temporarily loaned this fully-functional moonshine still for display at the new visitor center located in the Hooper House. Jones would like to see it- and other local historic artifacts- on permanent display in a much larger Jackson County museum. "This is a real work of art," Jones said of the still. Moonshine making is a craft... and part of Jackson County heritage, said Marion Jones, owner of a fully-functional still.

Jones, who collects antiques, was presented the still as a gift... and he is willing to share that gift.

Right now the still is temporarily on display at the new visitor center in the recently-restored Hooper House on Main Street. But Jones said he would like to see it on permanent display. And he thinks the perfect place for such a display is the historic Jackson County Courthouse.

"When the new jail is finished and the Sheriff's Department moves out, I think the old courthouse would make a great museum," said Jones, who just lives up the street a piece.

"We have a little space now in the Hooper House, but we need a really large place for a full-scale museum," said Jones, who traveled Western North Carolina for 35 years as a mediator with then-District Attorney Marcellus Buchanan, now deceased. "Most counties now have a museum, and our county has the nicest place for one of any county I know."

Museums attract a whole new realm of tourists, which generates dollars for the county, he said.

P.O.-boxes "This old Dillsboro Post Office has a lot of history behind it," said Marion Jones of Sylva, who has these pieces stored in his workshop. "It needs to be aired out and shared with all of Jackson County." Jones, who has proposed converting the Jackson County Courthouse into a museum when the Sheriff's Department moves out later this year, said this post office was first located at Barkers Creek and has been in the basement of the former Greystone Lodge and at Bradley General Store. Jones purchased the post office from sisters Edna and Edith Monteith. "You looked into the glass doors to see if you had any mail, and if you did, you went to the window and asked the postmaster to get it for you," Jones said of this post office with four sections, one of which was designated for money orders. "You can still see the names on the inside of the boxes- names like N.J. Jarrett and C.J. Harris." - Herald photos by Rose Hooper The full-fledged antique still Jones said he is willing to donate for display was once revenue-generating, too.

"When the man gave it to me, he made me promise never to tell where it came from," said Jones, who has not- and will not- tell.

"The moonshiner was going up to check on his still one day when he saw a man coming down the mountain toting the still on his back," Jones said. "He wasn't a revenue agent, either. He was just a thief.

"The thieving rascal made the moonshiner so mad he took out his gun and shot him... didn't kill him, just grazed his arm, ricocheting off the still. The thief dropped the still and ran off down the mountain.

"Shooting the thief scared the man half to death," Jones said, continuing his story. "When he thought about how he could have ended up in jail- for shooting and for moonshining- the moonshiner decided to give up his craft."

Since he had once heard Jones say he would like to have a real still to add to his antique collection, the moonshiner offered it to Jones, who gladly accepted it with the condition that he never reveal its source.

Back to Archive: 07/25/02.