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Boone, NC
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Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, USA. Boone is the county seat of Watauga County. The population was 13,472 as of the 2000 census.
Boone acquires its name from the famous pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone, who on several occasions camped at a site generally agreed to be within the present city limits. Boone was served by the narrow gauge East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (nicknamed "Tweetsie") until the flood of 1940.
Boone is the home of Appalachian State University, a constituent member of the University of North Carolina. Appalachian State is the fifth largest university in the sixteen campus system. Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute also operates a satellite campus in Boone.
"Horn in the West", a dramatization of the life and times of Daniel Boone, has been performed in an outdoor amphitheatre above the town every summer since 1952. The original "Daniel Boone" was Ned Austin, whose "Hollywood Star" stands on a pedestal on King Street downtown. Michael Houser, a founding member of and late lead-guitarist for the band Widespread Panic, was born in Boone. The Grammy award winning guitar player Doc Watson also comes from the Boone area, as do many bluegrass musicians and Appalachian storytellers.
Boone acquires its name from the famous pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone, who on several occasions camped at a site generally agreed to be within the present city limits. Boone was served by the narrow gauge East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (nicknamed "Tweetsie") until the flood of 1940.
Boone is the home of Appalachian State University, a constituent member of the University of North Carolina. Appalachian State is the fifth largest university in the sixteen campus system. Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute also operates a satellite campus in Boone.
"Horn in the West", a dramatization of the life and times of Daniel Boone, has been performed in an outdoor amphitheatre above the town every summer since 1952. The original "Daniel Boone" was Ned Austin, whose "Hollywood Star" stands on a pedestal on King Street downtown. Michael Houser, a founding member of and late lead-guitarist for the band Widespread Panic, was born in Boone. The Grammy award winning guitar player Doc Watson also comes from the Boone area, as do many bluegrass musicians and Appalachian storytellers.
GeographyBoone is located at (36.211364, -81.668657) and has an elevation of 3,266 ft (995.5 m) above mean sea level. An earlier survey gave the elevation as 3,332 ft and since then it has been published as having an elevation of 3,333 ft (1,016 m). Boone has the highest elevation of any town of its size (over 10,000 population) east of the Mississippi River. As such, the climate of Boone is a cooler humid continental climate (Koppen climate classification Dfb) closer to that of New England or the upper Midwest than the South. During summer, high temperatures in Boone are typically 80 °F (27 °C) or below, noticeably cooler than the lowland areas to the east and south, and summers are also considerably less humid than in other parts of the Carolinas. However, winters are longer, harsher, and colder, with frequent sleet and snowfall, and blizzard-like conditions are not unusual during the winter.
MediaNewspaperBoone is served by three local newspapers. The Watauga Democrat is published on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week. The Mountain Times and High Country Press are weekly publications.
RadioWATA 1450 AM is predominantly News Talk.
WASU 90.5 FM is a college radio station run from the Appalachian campus.
Development controversySince the 1980s, Boone has developed at an unprecedented rate, spurred by the expansion of Appalachian State University and an influx of people from New England and Florida who chose the area for a second home. Development continues within the city and the outlying rural areas, predominantly taking the form of urban sprawl; i.e. strip mall development and big box stores adjacent to major roadways. Development of the area is extremely controversial, and many Boone residents – including students, for whom much of the development is intended – feel that the ongoing urbanization of the valley detracts from the city's natural setting.
Boone currently has zoning laws and defined urban/rural growth areas, but lacks a long-term land use plan that dictates how the city can grow. There is no clear indication as to the future of Boone's development. Some signs indicate that local government bodies are beginning to examine the long-term effects of development more closely – for example, a 2005 moratorium that limited multi-family developments to 24 or fewer units while the town examined the impact of such developments. The North Carolina Department of Transportation plans to begin widening 1.2 miles of King Street / US 421 in 2010. As planned, the widening project will stop short of the historic downtown stretch of King Street, but will nonetheless displace 25 businesses and 63 residences east of that point.
Points of interest Appalachian State University Blue Ridge Parkway Daniel Boone Native Gardens Horn in the West Howard's Knob Tweetsie Railroad Watauga River Elk Knob State ParkExternal links Official Boone, NC website Boone Area Chamber of Commerce Boone Convention & Visitors Bureau AppalCART Public Transportation The Mountain Times The Watauga Democrat Boone Radio Station News and Streaming Broadcasts Historical Boone Photos, Postcards, and Paper Cy Crumley ET&WNC Photo Collection
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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2 people reviewed Boone
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at 2:57PM October 25, 2008
My home town! A four-season vacation destination close to skiing, scenery, Tweetsie Railroad and the Blue Ridge Parkway.
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at 7:36PM May 28, 2008
It's one of the loveliest places in NC.
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