History

The Town of Tryon has historically been home to many artistically-talented residents.  In the 1950s, artists gathered in the home studios of various local residents to create handicrafts and fine arts.  One Tryon resident, Grace Hall, who had been trapped in her home for three weeks during a 1959 snowstorm, wrote to the Tryon Daily Bulletin to advocate for a local crafts center to instruct and encourage “leisure time” talents.  Grace’s letter sparked many other community members to write letters to the Tryon Daily Bulletin in which they promoted the idea of establishing an arts and crafts center.

Toy horse from the Tryon Toy Makers in the TACS Heritage Collection

In April 1960, following a meeting in the Oak Hall Hotel, 200 people each pledged a $1.00 membership fee in support of a fledgling organization that would later become Tryon Crafts, Inc.  The new arts and crafts coop included the folks who had previously met in home studios, as well as influential citizens such as the architect Carter Brown and the philanthropist Mrs. Violet L. E. Parish-Watson.  Members sold their artwork through the new coop and taught classes as well as attended classes taught by guest artists. The coop gained regional recognition when the Asheville Citizen-Times published a series of articles about it.   The Town of Tryon became famous as an artist’s colony. Tryon Crafts has been located in numerous places since its founding in 1960, including the Book Shelf, the Tryon Fine Arts Center, the Arts Pallet, the Cate-Hall Weaving Cottage, and the Casey Building.  In the summer of 2006, the organization purchased and moved into the Tryon Middle School at 373 Harmon Field Road.  In 2004, we broadened our mission and changed our name to Tryon Arts and Crafts.  We are now called “Tryon Arts and Crafts School,” or TACS for short, to reflect our history, dating back to the 1950s, as a primarily educational organization.