Joe C. Minor and William E. Rush collecting quarter folded copies of The Appalachian – 1956

In July 2014, we made available a variety of photographs collected by the nonprofit organization Historic Boone and housed at Watauga County Public Library. We have now added more photographs to the exhibit, including images documenting the 1949 Watauga County Centennial Celebration, photographs of Governor Holshouser, and a selection of photographs by local Boone photographer, Palmer Blair.

Bearded Buddies at the Watauga Centennial – 1949. Photograph by Palmer Blair.

Snow Scene by Palmer Blair. Won 3rd Award at the NCPA Convention

In addition to the photographs, there are also several postcards featuring historic buildings and landscapes in the area as well as several ephemera including: Land of OZ brochure and map, local menus, post office stamps, and publications from local schools and businesses.

Map of the Land of Oz at Beech Mountain in Banner Elk

To learn more about Historic Boone, visit here.

The North Carolina Digital Heritage Center has digitized newly arrived Watson Family photos and materials as well as a collection of Rocky Mount High School newspapers, all from the Braswell Memorial Library (Rocky Mount, N.C.).

Truck Load of Tobacco Weighing 23,188 LBs – October 14, 1935

Watson Purebred Fall Grains – 1952

In April, we published a large quantity of Watson Family photographs and advertisements. The new additions include more family photos and ads, as well as images from the Watson Seed Farm Inc. fields and warehouses. Many of the Watson Seed Farm images feature Watson brothers Van Sharpe Watson, Jr. and George Benedict Watson. For reference, please refer to the Watson Family Tree, which was featured in an earlier blog post. Other images of the farm include harvesting processes, workers such as Mr. James Alston, and harvesting product such as hybrid corn seed and tobacco.

Watson Brother Demonstrating Bagging Watson Seed – circa 1950

Braswell Memorial Library also contributed a selection of Rocky Mount High School newspapers, ranging from 1950 through 2004. Earlier volumes of the newspaper were called The Blackbird, which changed to The Gryphon in 1969.

There are now over 1,000 items from Braswell Memorial Library available online. You can view them all here.

Excerpt from the Common School Register, September, 1860. The instructor closed the school during fair weather to “pull fodder.” Later that month, attendance decreased to “a very few in number.”

Perhaps you saw our recent tweet showing students holding a large bound volume of aerial photographs? This volume was one of two that were included in a recent batch of items digitized for the Stanly County Museum.

• Tuckertown Reservoir Site
• High Rock Reservoir Site

Other items in this batch include a group of indentures from 1795 – 1886. These are some of the oldest items on our site. Common surnames in the indentures include Blackwelder, Ridenhour, and Lyerly.

The final two items from this batch are the Stanly County North Carolina Common School Register (1838-1863) and the Albemarle School District Census (1906). The latter includes students’ names, ages, and whether they were male or female, and what we believe are parents’ names. The former includes a bit more detail, including attendance records, grades, and the occupations of parents. Down the right hand pages are notes from the teacher that are a diary of sorts, describing school activities, visitors, the weather, as well as an expulsion and several deaths. Also, be sure to take a look at the school rules, enumerated on page 7. No whooping or hallowing!

View all of the materials on DigitalNC from the Stanly County Museum.