About
Preserving the High Country's Archival Memory
Mission Statement:
The principal aim of the Digital Watauga Project (DWP) is the digital preservation of Watauga County, North Carolina’s historical images, documents, and other materials. By serving as a digital clearinghouse of Watauga County’s history, the DWP encourages its members and the citizens of Watauga County to make our history more accessible to the general public while also allowing the owner of historical materials digitized through the DWP to retain ownership and control over their original images, documents, and artifacts. In addition, the DWP sponsors regular public events designed to highlight components of its digital collection and educate the Watauga County community about its rich, multifaceted, and important history. The Digital Watauga Project, working in partnership with the Watauga County Public Library, is a project of the Watauga County Historical Society, a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 organization.
To learn more about our community partners check out their websites:
Watauga County Historical Society
Blowing Rock Historical Society
For a "behind the scenes" look at the Digital Watauga Project check out our social media pages:
Digital Watauga Instagram Page
The Digital Watauga Project also manages a Wordpress blog:
A Look Back at Watauga
The Digital Watauga Project was made possible through the generous assistance of a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) EZ Digitization Grant ($25,000). Grants are federal funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that were awarded by the State Library of North Carolina to eligible North Carolina libraries.
Physical storage of the collections of the Digital Watauga Project was made possible in part by grants from the Downtown Boone Development Association to the Watauga County Library in 2014 ($1,000) and the Watauga Legacy Fund to the Watauga County Library in 2017 ($2,000). Yet another grant for a storage cabinet ($2,500) came in 2018 through support from the Armfield and Rachel Rivers Coffey Memorial Fund, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation, with recommendation from the Watauga County Community Foundation. A 2021 grant from the Armfield and Rachel Rivers Coffey Memorial Fund also provided partial funding for acquisition of a scanner for bound materials in our collections.
Private and other institutional support for Digital Watauga is provided on an ongoing basis. Donations greater than $100 are acknowledged by name at https://www.wataugacountyhistoricalsociety.org/join-usdonate.