Image submitted | Jefferson Post
This map of Todd is featured on the Todd Mercantile website and was designed by local artist Jim Lewis.
In an attempt to share the Todd community with the rest of the world, the Todd community and the Todd Mercantile have created websites to disperse information about the area.
“You have to have a web presence in today’s world,” said Helen Barnes-Rielly, who owns the Todd Mercantile with her husband.
Todd’s website, toddnc.org, gives information about upcoming events and also shares the history of Todd, which at one time, was a larger community than West Jefferson or Boone.
“Todd’s heyday came in the early 20th century with the timber boom. In 1910, the Carolina-Virginia Railway announced the company would extend tracks from West Jefferson to Elk X Roads. The train was known as the “Virginia Creeper” because of its slow but steady ascent of the steep grades,” reads Todd’s website.
“At the peak of the boom, Todd boasted two doctors, a dentist, one bank, seven stores, three mills and two hotels. The community was incorporated in 1915 and had a mayor, council and a town marshal. Frank Ray and Walter Cook, co-founder and operator of the general store for more than 40 years, were the only two known mayors,” reads the website.
Rielly said adding a couple of new websites probably won’t restore Todd to its former glory, and for her, that’s okay. Rielly said most people enjoy Todd for its small town feel.
“Everyone comes from somewhere, but when people come to Todd, they’re home,” said Rielly.
However, Rielly said the new-found web presence should help “share” Todd with the rest of the world, and maybe prompt visitors to stop by.
The Todd Mercantile website, toddmercantile.com, is still a “work in progress,” according to Rielly, who wants to add more to her new website.
The website currently features a list of all the live events taking place in the Todd community, like live music, contra dances and story telling. Rielly said she plans on adding information about the mercantile’s bakery and merchandise.
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