In 1974 a group of craftspeople in the Toe River Valley found they needed an attractive local market for their creativity. They decided to work cooperatively to sell their crafts and establish a setting where neighbors and travelers could see their work displayed. The shop itself was built, in that cooperative spirit, on land owned by the Celo Community. Friends and neighbors pitched in to build, and in August of 1974 Toe River Crafts opened with the work of a few founding members. 

In 1977 the South Toe River swept through the valley bringing water into the shop as high as the windows! Pottery floated around the shop and the outhouse had to be retrieved from down the road. The bridge to 7 Mile Ridge Road was condemned and what was normally a short walk to the shop became a ten mile drive. But then, as now, the members banded together to clean and straighten and restore the rustic building that is a beloved fixture in the valley.

In 2004 the rains came with hurricanes Francis and Ivan and again flooded the shop - this time giving us the excuse to finally replace the aging floor and winterize the shop a bit for the comfort of our shopkeepers in the early spring and fall.

Several of the original members are still active in the shop today as a new generation begins to join and energize the shop.