Mast General Store Annex reopens in Valle Crucis after Helene [Video]

VALLE CRUCIS, N.C. — Helene couldn’t knock down the Mast General Store Annex in Valle Crucis, and now the 115-year-old building is back open for business.

The Annex, which was constructed in 1909, reopened Saturday with “a ceremony to mark the water line at the front entrance as has become tradition since 1995,” according to a press release.

“The Annex has seen its share of water before, but this was the most I have ever seen,” said Mast General Store Facilities Manager Terry Moore. “History has taight us to be prepared for high water at the Annex, and that preparation saved the building with only one inch of water coming inside.”

This isn’t the first time the Annex has flooded before. In fact, the Mast General Store says there are permanent ink lines measured and dated on the Annex’s doorframe to mark the depths of past floods.

WFMY News 2 sent a crew to survey the damage in …