Digital Watauga
Welcome to the Digital Watauga Project
The Digital Watauga Project is a collaborative effort between the Watauga County Historical Society and the Watauga County Public Library to preserve and display the High Country's archival memory. Use of Digital Watauga is ALWAYS FREE to the public. You can preview our collections below, or click here to browse them, but we do recommend that you click on the "How to Use Digital Watauga" link, available by hovering over the "Digital Watauga" link in the left menu list, before getting started.
PLEASE NOTE: It is not necessary to register or login to use Digital Watauga, and we do not approve registration requests. All users can comment on any item in a collection by using the comment field at the bottom of the page for that item. All comments are moderated, so your comment will not immediately appear after you post it, but we review comments weekly. Please do NOT use the comment field to make requests of Digital Watauga, such as inquiries about additional information or copies of images, because we do not have a way to respond to you through the commenting interface. If you want to contact Digital Watauga staff for any reason, including about donating an image or collection, or to request information or copies of images, please email us at DigitalWatauga@gmail.com.
Bobby Brendell Postcard Collection
Bobby Brendell collected over 400 postcards relating to various attractions in the High Country of North Carolina. He donated this collection to the Watauga County Historical Society shortly before his death in 2015.
Carolina Ave Collection
Adrian Tait of Boone recently donated several letters, photographs, and other ephemera found inside the walls of the house at 164 Carolina Avenue in Boone.
Junaluska Heritage Collection
The Junaluska Heritage Collection consists of photographs spanning the late nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries depicting life in Boone's historically black community.
Historic Boone Collection
This collection is drawn from the photographs and materials collected by Historic Boone, a historical society which operated from the 1960s until the early 2000s in Boone.
Appalachian Theatre of the High Country Collection
The Appalachian Theatre of the High Country, located on West King Street, was Boone's largest theatre in the middle of the 19th century. Open from 1938 through 2007, the Appalachian offered entertainment to generations of Boone residents. Renovations are currently underway to restore the theatre to its former appearance.
-
Stock List, Motiograph Mirrophonic Sound Systems, October 15, 1948
-
Letter from J. Tylee Wilson to C. J. Hayes, Appalachian Theatre, February 28, 1983
-
Governor's Business Award Nomination Certificate, March 24, 1983
-
Town of Boone Community Appearance Commission Award to Appalachian Theatre, 1982
-
Brief Description of Birthday Postcard Promotion, February 13, 1970
-
-
-
-
Guide for Girls to Seeing Where the Boys Are, Appalachian Theatre, January 1961
-
Crossmarketing Flier for B. W. Stallings Jewelry Co. and the Appalachian Theatre, Diamond Hunt, 1956
Watauga County Agricultural Extension Aerial Photographs Collection
Aerial photographs from the Watauga Agricultural Extension show Watauga County from above. Aerials were taken in the decades from the 1940s through the 1970s.
Alfred and Daisy Adams Collection
This image of Boone businessmen on a hill overlooking downtown constitutes the first item in the Alfred and Daisy Adams Collection. It offers a great view of the town and of important individuals in the town's hsitory.
Palmer Blair Collection
Palmer Blair was a photographer in Boone in the middle of the 20th century. He photographed nearly every major event in town and his images show life all throughout the county.
Lowery-Whiting Collection
Shulls Mills was a larger town than Boone at the begining of the 20th century. These images depict work and life at the Whiting Lumber Mill.
Anna Large Postcard Collection
Anna Large donated these 17 historic postcards to the Watauga County Historical Society.
Henry Dewolf Aerial Surveys of Watauga County Collection
Henry DeWolf was an aerial photographer active from 1950-1978, taking a large number of low angle aerial images of communities around the US. These are images of his work in Watauga County.
HL & Gladys Coffey Collection
HL and Gladys Coffey were residents from the Meat Camp/Bald Mountain area of Watauga County. These images were primarily taken by HL in the first half of the twentieth century.
Clarence A. Price Home Movies Collection
Clarence A. Price was the caretaker of the Daniel Boone Hotel in downtown Boone during the middle of the 20th century. His home movies have been digitized and are viewable on the Digital Watauga YouTube Channel.
John Waite Stemwinder Collection
John Waite published Stemwinder, a journal about the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad, for many years. Digital Watauga has gained the rights to these three editions of the journal which have articles and pictures relating to Shulls Mills, Boone, and the Linville River Railroad.
Linda H. Miller Collection
Linda Herman Miller was a teacher and Watauga County native. She used these slides to teach her classes about local history and to show the great beauty of this area.