 |
In 1900, 13,420
people made their home in Watauga County, including 6722 males and 6698 females. Of the 6722 males, 6524 were Caucasian males, 195 were African
American, and 3 were foreign born.
Of the 6698 females, 6502 were Caucasian females, and 196
were African American. |
|
The county's name
was derived from the river running through it, which, in the language of the indigenous
people of the area, means, "the River of Islands." |
|
The land which
eventually became the town of Boone was originally owned by two brothers, John and Jerry
Green. One brother sold a portion of his land to Jordan Councill, and the other brother
sold part of his land to Ransom Hayes. |
|
In 1902, Boone had
155 citizens. |
|
In 1902, the total
value of property in the county was $892,386. Livestock were still plentiful: a count in
that year showed 1,818 horses, 707 mules, 35 goats, 8,923 cattle, 6,458 hogs and 12,602
sheep. |
|
225,000
bushels of corn were produced in 1900. |
|
There were seven
butchers and dealers in cattle in Boone, 11 general merchandise stores and one painter. |
|
Post offices were in
abundance, totaling 46 in all. Some were in still-familiar communities. Others were in
spots like Brookside, Saint Jude, Sodahill, Yerger and Yuma. |
|
A visitor to the
county in 1902 would have found 13 physicians, two dentists (both in Banner Elk), and
seven attorneys. Those lawyers had to work quickly to make a living: superior sat for just
four weeks and one day in the year. |
|
In 1901, L.H.
Michael of Watauga, represented the area in the North Carolina Senate, while William H.
Calloway was a member of the House. |
|
In 1903, H.M.
Wellborn of Ashe was a member of the Senate and Lindsay H. Michael was Watauga's
representative in the House. |
|
In 1905, S.A.
Taylor, of Alleghany, was the area's Senator, and C.W. Phipps, the representative in the
House. |
|
John. H. Bingham
served Watauga County as Superior Clerk of Court from 1898-1902, and Thomas Bingham filled
the position from 1902-1910. |
|
Sheriffs, during the
decade, included W.B. Baird (1900-1904), J.W. Hodges (1904-1908), and D.C. Reagan
(1908-1912). |
|
In 1899, the state
had appropriated $1,500 to support B.B. and D.D. Dougherty's Appalachian Training School
if the sum could be matched by the people. |
|
At the time, over
500+ acres of valuable land belonged to the school and three sessions annually brought
400-500 students to the area. |
|
In 1904, the area's
first banks opened their doors. |
|
Watauga County Bank
opened with $10,000 capital, which increased to $12,000 capital in 1908 and continued to
thrive. |
|
Blowing Rock Bank,
also opened in 1904, with $5000 capital and according to The North Carolina Year Book:
1902: "It has thriven also." |
|
Watauga's tourist
industry got off to a slow start due to inaccessibility and poor transportation
facilities. However, in 1907, two parties of automobilists found it necessary to take two
days to make the trip from Charlotte to Blowing Rock carrying their own gasoline and other
supplies. In fact, they felt that they had made excellent time. |
