Sylvester and Maybelle Robertson Cain led busy lives in Norcross a century ago, and they and their descendants contributed to the town for the next 100 years.
Sylvester worked as a railroad conductor, and he and his wife ran a dry goods store in downtown Norcross, where Paizano’s Pizza is located today. They also were the proprietors of the Brunswick Hotel, next door to their home at 57 Thrasher Street. The hotel had been built by town founder John Thrasher when he established the town in 1870, with the idea that Norcross would be a resort destination.)
The hotel had fallen into disrepair by 1950 and was demolished to make way for the brick building that is there today, which originally served as the Norcross Post Office and is now a veterinary clinic. The hotel’s well still stands on Thrasher Street, next to the old hotel site.
The Cains’ daughter Corinne lived in the house on Thrasher with her husband George Verner for many years, as did their daughter, Janis Verner, who passed away in 2005. When Janis expressed interest in learning to play the violin, her grandfather, an amateur musician, traded a mandolin that he owned for a violin for her. She played that instrument for 67 years as part of the Norcross First United Methodist Church Orchestra.
