Scudder’s Gallery closes on building

Though Scudder’s Gallery closed its doors four years ago, in late December, the gallery recently sold its building where the business was located for more than 40 years.

Owner Frank Scudder said his father came up to Highlands in 1975 to buy out another auction gallery.

“They couldn’t agree on the final price, so he went across the street and bought the building that we have been in for 40 something years,” Scudder said. “Since 1955, we have always had an auction gallery in our family. We started in Florida in Silver Springs, until that one burned to the ground. It started out as an antique store and it was the first retail store in Silver Springs. Once it burned down, my father turned it into an auction gallery with what he had left.”

Why move from a place where you’re the only retail store? Scudder had one simple answer. Disney World.

“Disney World came to the Orlando area in the early 70s and took a lot of our business,” Scudder said. “People didn’t come to Silver Springs in the winter or summer anymore, they went to Orlando. So, we lost a lot of our clients.”

The auctioneer that worked for Scudder’s father came to Highlands frequently to work for another auction gallery,  which led the family to the Plateau.

“He basically told us what kind of business they were doing and that the business owners were getting ready to retire,” Scudder said. “It took him a few years to convince him to come up to Highlands. My grandmother used to go to Franklin for a month every summer, so he was familiar with the area. We grew from there.”

Before there were any businesses on Main Street, Scudder said his gallery was the place to go for a night out.

“We were the only activity at night, besides the movie theatre across the street and putt-putt golf at Helen’s Barn, along with the dancing,” Scudder said. “There wasn’t anything to do in the town, just go eat, walk down the street and visit us, and that’s what people would do. Back in the day, I remember we had a Supreme Court judge that would come in at 7 p.m., and stay until 10 p.m., six days a week. He had his own seat and he and his wife would sit and stay all night.”

Thinking back about those nights and moving into the later years of the business, Scudder said his favorite memories were the interactions with people.

“There were a lot of interesting people and interesting merchandise that we got from people,” Scudder said. “It was a lot of work, but it was a fun time. In 2006-07, we remodeled the inside and our jewelry gallery and we got a lot of higher quality merchandise from different estates. People would pass on our move out of Highlands and would give us our belongings to sell for them. I would say going back, when Old Edwards Inn remodeled and when the Town tore up the sidewalks and replaced them with the brick, it upgraded the whole town. In the late 80s there was a thought that it might turn into a Gatlinburg because there were a lot of t-shirt shops and souvenir shops, but they didn’t stay.”

The main thing that Scudder said he is going to miss about the business is the interaction with people and the Highlands experience.

“We have a lot of memories through the years and made a lot of friends,” Scudder said. “We still have our houses in Highlands that we don’t plan on selling. We plan on coming back on a regular basis. It won’t be for six months like we used to, but we come up once a month. We have had an amazing experience in Highlands. I’ve got two sons that grew up here, playing little league, golf and swam every day. Where we lived there were creeks and they were able to hunt salamanders and it was just a real family experience.”

Scudder’s earned the small business award from the Highlands Chamber of Commerce in 2017.

The last charity event Scudder’s held brought in approximately $32,000 for the Highlands Methodist Church.

- By Christopher Lugo