Smithey Hotel

Smithey Hotel. . Built in 1891 by the Wilkesboro Hotel Company, this structure was purchased by Nike Smithey in 1906 for $3,800 and renamed the Smithey Hotel. While operating the hotel Mr. Smithey also began a dry goods business on the first floor., This mercantile business, named Smithey's Department Store, expanded to include 17 stores across western North Carolina and in parts of Virginia and Tennessee by 1953. Smithey was known for his shrewd sense of business and in the 1930s and 1940s Harvard's School of Business sent representatives to Wilkesboro to study his buying and selling methods., Due to its proximity to the Wilkes County Courthouse, judges, lawyers and jurors would frequently stay at the hotel. During a recess in court, many of the parties involved would go to the Smithey Hotel's dining room for lunch. In 1973 the hotel ceased to operate, but the department store continued to be run by members of the Smithey family until the early 1990s., This late 19th century example of small town commercial architecture remains relatively unaltered and is home to several historic downtown Wilkesboro businesses., (Timeline) , C. 1891-1906 Wilkesboro Hotel , 1906 Smithey Hotel Opens , c. 1973 Hotel Closes , c. 1990s Department Store Closes