116 Cowan St, Sylva, NC 28779

The perfect blend of privacy and convenience. Over an acre of solitude located in downtown Sylva - and still with a million dollar view - and with one of the most historic houses in the region. The house was built in the 1890s by Hugo Stein, a stonecutter who had his shop on Sylva's Main Street. Stein migrated from Germany, first to New Orleans, and eventually settling in the North Carolina mountains. Hugo Stein carved dozens of local works, including John Brinkley's majestic, final tribute to his mother and the well-known Aunt Sally's Curve monument along Hwy 107 driving towards Glenville and Cashiers. The house has been owned by only three families, purchased from Stein by the Suttons in 1918 and then by the current owners in 1971. From its windows, its deck, or its covered front porch, the house offers three distinct, extraordinary views: one of Sylva's vibrant Main Street; another of the historic Jackson County Courthouse; and finally, of Pinnacle and Black Rock, all part of the sweeping Plott Balsam Mountain Range. The view OF the house is as remarkable as the view FROM the house, glimpsed from the Courthouse steps, throughout the bowl-shaped valley, and from just about every spot in downtown Sylva. The house is surrounded by 1.2 acres dotted with dozens of mature junipers, pines, sycamores, oaks, maples, poplars, and sweetgums. Finches, cardinals, sparrows, woodpeckers, and other birds make their homes in the trees and sing from sunup until dusk. Almost a full acre is fenced, providing dogs, cats, and children a place of beauty, safety, and excitement. Felled trees and fallen brush are not discarded. They are mounded to attract squirrels, rabbits, groundhogs, and the occasional fox. No house in Sylva has comparable curb appeal. Built on a flat table atop a sloping hill, the house can be accessed via forty-five steps up from Jackson Street in the front or along a winding drive from Cowan Street in the back. The 18-room, 4800 sq. ft. house boasts hardwood floors, a metal roof, a sunroom with a wood-burning fireplace, natural gas, 10+ off-street parking places, and bedrooms and bathrooms on the ground and second floors. A second galley kitchen provides the potential for a separate flat or to support a variety of other residential or commercial possibilities. 116 Cowan Street is being sold as-is and by owner. An October, 2019 full appraisal ($440,000) is available. 828-273-7619