Before Lake Norman transformed the landscape, our communities had their own landmarks. They weren’t shopping centers or major highways. They were country stores, neighborhood drugstores, barber shops, soda fountains, and familiar gathering places where people knew one another by name.
Having lived in Huntersville my entire life, I’ve seen how much this area has changed. Yet some of our most meaningful history can be found in the stories of the businesses and gathering places that served generations of local families.
Long before modern grocery stores, country stores were essential to everyday life. They supplied household necessities and gave neighbors a place to exchange news and visit.
Near Huntersville, the Hugh Torance House and Store, dating to the late 1700s, stands as an important reminder of the area’s early commerce.
Another historic landmark was Davis General Merchandise in the Croft community. The family business reportedly began in 1890, and its brick store at 8940 Old Statesville Road was built in 1908. These stores were more than places to make purchases. They connected rural families and helped meet the everyday needs of the surrounding community.
As Cornelius grew around its cotton mills, local businesses became part of the daily routine of mill workers and their families.
Puckett Grocery Store, operated by William Puckett on Catawba Avenue across from Cornelius Cotton Mill, served the neighborhood during this era. Puckett was a lifelong Cornelius resident and served as mayor from 1925 to 1926.
Nearby stood a large oak tree known as the Tree of Knowledge, at the southwestern corner of Catawba Avenue and Main Street, between the two mills. People gathered beneath its branches to talk, share news, and catch up with neighbors. It became an informal town square.
Just around the corner, Guion Drugs served customers near North Main Street and Catawba Avenue. The nearby police station and Bank of Cornelius were also part of the town’s familiar landscape.
In Davidson’s Mock Hill community, Falls Store served African American residents and families, providing an important neighborhood shopping place.
By the mid-1900s, drugstores had become familiar gathering places throughout the region. Mullen’s Drug Store in Huntersville, Guion Drugs in Cornelius, and Miller Drug and Goodman Drug Store in Mooresville are among the names associated with an earlier era of local life.
One of Huntersville’s most memorable stories belongs to Neil’s Drug.
Walter Neil opened the pharmacy in 1955 at the site where Slice House Pizza stands today. The store opened at 7:30 a.m. and stayed open until 10 p.m., serving customers well into the evening. Those late hours were especially helpful to patients visiting local physician Dr. Willis Seay, who saw patients until 10 p.m.
Neil’s Drug was more than a place to fill a prescription. The soda fountain and tables gave neighbors a comfortable spot to sit, visit, and catch up on the day’s news. It was part pharmacy, part neighborhood gathering place.
One story illustrates the personal relationships that connected local businesses with the people they served. School principal Banks Miller approached Walter Neil with a concern that students were spending their lunch money on candy before school. Mr. Neil listened and agreed to delay the store’s opening until 8 a.m.
It was a small adjustment, but it reflected the kind of relationship that could develop between a local business owner and the community. People knew one another, concerns were discussed face to face, and a willingness to help often mattered as much as the business itself.
The story of Neil’s Drug did not end with the original pharmacy. Walter Neil’s son, Walt, continued the family’s connection to pharmacy and community service.
Today, Walt operates Neil’s Compounding Pharmacy at 9801 Kincey Avenue in Huntersville. Although pharmacy has changed considerably since the days of the neighborhood soda fountain, the family’s connection to serving local residents continues.
That link between past and present makes the Neil family story especially meaningful. A business that once brought neighbors together over prescriptions and soda has become part of a continuing family tradition.
As Huntersville has grown, many of the old gathering places have disappeared or changed. The Neil family’s story reminds us that a community’s history is not found only in its buildings. It also lives in the people who dedicated their lives to serving their neighbors.
In Davidson, the Davidson Soda Shop opened in 1951. For generations, it has been a downtown gathering place, marking its 75th anniversary in 2026.
Barber shops served a similar purpose. In Cornelius, Wilson Potts began working at Blakely’s Barber Shop on Brick Row. He later purchased the business, renamed it Potts Barber Shop, and moved it to its current location.
These businesses offered more than their services. They created opportunities for conversation, friendship, and the sharing of local news.
Some familiar names have continued into more recent decades. Lancaster’s Bar-B-Que opened in 1986, and its Huntersville location opened in 2006 at the site of the historic Puckett’s Gas Station and General Store.
Churches, schools, mill villages, and railroad depots also brought people together. Each played a role in shaping the relationships and traditions that made these towns distinctive.
Many of the original businesses have disappeared, while others remain part of our daily lives. Their importance was never measured only by what they sold. They gave people places to meet, share news, celebrate milestones, and help one another.
I live right behind the Old Store on Beatties Ford and Brown Mill roads. As a kid I remember seeing all the dairy farmers meeting around the pot belly store, after the morning milking was completed, in what we then call Barkleys. That was because the store was operated by Van Buren Barkley whose family still lives in the area.
Before the lake changed the landscape, these places were already helping make our communities feel like home.
Do you remember one of these businesses, or another local store, diner, drugstore, or gathering place that deserves to be remembered? LKNConnect welcomes your memories, photographs, and corrections. Please share them in the comments or email DBeard@LKNConnect.com.
This article was prepared using historical information and local recollections. We welcome additional information that can help preserve an accurate record of our area’s history.
