New 'Mayor' Named in Brasstown

(Photo by Corryn Young Reynolds)

Brasstown native and historian Johnny Scroggs receives the key to the city from Becky Mauney Wright in a special presentation.

By Travis Dockery

Staff Writer

BRASSTOWN, N.C. — Johnny Scroggs was named honorary mayor of Brasstown on Sunday, Oct. 12, during the Scroggs family reunion at the Brasstown Community Center.

Family members presented him with the key to Brasstown, previously held by Fred O. Scroggs, and the doorknob from Fred O. Shop, a building more than 100 years old located on the corner across from the Esso building.

The Scroggs family previously named Mercer Scroggs honorary mayor; he later ran for president. Relatives said they were proud of Johnny Scroggs and that Fred O. Scroggs would have been too.

“I’m honored to follow in the footsteps of Mercer Scroggs, Brasstown’s former honorary mayor,” Johnny Scroggs said. “Brasstown has been home to the Scroggs family for generations and is an important part of our history and who we are.”

Family members described the gesture as a way of preserving local roots and history at a time when much is changing.