First Bank of Murphy in Murphy, North Carolina

Welcome to one of Downtown Murphy’s oldest buildings and quite possibly one of its most colorful. This was once the Bank of Murphy, established on January 16, 1899. Today, it’s home to FairyCross Bottle Shop. Apparently, after more than a century, this building decided it had earned the right to stop dealing in money and start dealing in wine. Before you head inside, take a good look at the marble steps. Notice how worn they are? Those aren’t just scratches and weathering. They’re the footprints of history...literally. For decades, thousands of customers, bankers, shopkeepers, and assorted characters walked through these doors, slowly wearing down the marble beneath their feet. The building is one of the oldest surviving commercial structures in downtown Murphy. Its original brick façade was covered with stucco sometime in its long history, but many of its architectural details remain, including the graceful arched doors and windows and the original marble threshold. When the Bank of Murphy opened its doors in 1899, A.F. Dickey was president, A. McD. Harshaw was vice president, and Luke Bayless served as the bank’s first manager and cashier. Bayless was credited with helping make the bank successful through his financial knowledge and sound business judgment. And then, just five years later, someone decided to put that sound financial institution to a rather explosive test. On September 9, 1904, burglars broke into the bank and blew open the vault. They made off with more than $4,000, a considerable fortune at the time, and apparently left behind only a few pennies. The burglars were never caught. So, if you’re looking for the original Murphy mystery, you’ve found it: Who blew up the bank, where did they go, and what happened to all that money? The case remains unsolved more than 120 years later. Small-town history apparently comes with its own cold cases. But the building has another curious secret. When it was originally constructed, a dragon adorned the edge of the roof, appearing to peer down at pedestrians below. In classical architecture, mythical creatures such as dragons could serve as guardians of wealth and treasure. For a bank, the symbolism was particularly appropriate: strength, security, and a very clear message to potential burglars—we have a dragon. Unfortunately, the dragon eventually disappeared from the roof. Fortunately, it wasn’t lost to history. Today, the creature is preserved and on display at the Cherokee County Historical Museum, just a short walk away in Downtown Murphy. The building continued to operate as a bank until the 1920s. After that, it went through a remarkable succession of identities, becoming home to an ice cream parlor, retail stores, a hair salon, and a travel agency. And then came wine. Since 2023, the building has been home to FairyCross Bottle Shop, a wine and specialty food shop that has given this very old building a decidedly more convivial second, or perhaps sixth, act. The shop takes its name from fairy crosses, naturally occurring crystal formations found in this part of Western North Carolina. Local folklore considers these tiny, cross-shaped stones sacred and magical. Every so often, a local will bring some into the shop, where they are given to someone who happens to be going through a difficult time. There’s just one condition: make a wish. It seems fitting that a building with a dragon on its roof, a history of bank robbers, and more than a century of stories should now have a little magic inside it, too. Think about that for a moment: a building that began by safeguarding people’s money, survived a vault explosion, lost a dragon, hosted an ice cream parlor and a hair salon, and eventually became a place where people gather to drink wine…and, occasionally receive a tiny magical crystal and a reason to make a wish. Not a bad retirement plan for a 125-year-old building. So next time you’re standing outside, take another look at those worn marble steps. Imagine the bankers, customers, burglars, shoppers, beauticians, travelers, and everyone else who crossed that threshold over the decades. The building has witnessed fortunes being made, fortunes being stolen, businesses coming and going, and Murphy itself changing around it. And somehow, through it all, it’s still here. These days, you just have to walk through the old bank doors and ask for a glass of wine, and maybe make a wish.

Read it at Atlas Obscura ↗

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