The original Sylva train depot was constructed on this site in 1884 with the arrival of the Western North Carolina Railroad. The railroad's decision to locate the rail line on the north side of King's Mountain shifted Jackson County's retail and professional center from the south side of King's Mountain to what is now the Town of Sylva. The railroad's impact on this shift, and the resulting formation of the Town of Sylva, is evident from the establishment of Sylva's original square-shaped municipal limits on March 9, 1889. The square formation was one-half mile East, West, North, and South from the southeast corner of the depot. Sylva was chartered again in 1899 expanding the town boundaries three-fourths of a mile to form an exact octagon.