Archived News

Funeral home buys old Mountaineer press building

Wells Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Waynesville has purchased a large building downtown that once housed The Mountaineer Publishing Company’s printing press.

The old press building is located on Wall Street directly behind The Mountaineer’s newspaper office and adjacent to the funeral home.

The two businesses negotiated for a couple of months before the funeral home eventually bought the land and building three weeks ago for $365,000.

The Mountaineer Publishing Company no longer operates its own printing press and instead outsources the printing of its newspapers to a large commercial press in the region, a growing trend within the newspaper industry.

“We just don’t need it,” Jonathan Key, publisher of The Mountaineer, said of the decision to sell off the building. The building had not been used for more than a year.

The funeral home has no concrete plans for the vacant building as of now.

Related Items

“Our plans are not carved in stone at this time,” said Wells Greeley, owner of the funeral home and a Waynesville alderman.

But, Greeley said that it could be used for an expansion at some point in the future.

“We are weighing our options,” Greeley said, calling the lot a “good piece of property.”

The purchase will also ensure that Greeley controls what goes into that space, preventing the possibility of non-compatible business moving in next door.

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.