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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 48 into the High Country is found in a Watauga Democrat article published in June of 1890 that speaks of the change to come, saying, “The telegraph wire with other equipment are now all at the depot in Lenoir for the line from Blowing Rock to Boone. This line will be completed very soon and then Boone will be in communication with the world by telegraph. The next thing in order is a railroad.”

In the June 12, 1889, edition of the Watauga Democrat, we get into more of the nuts and bolts of life in the High Country back in the day with a column titled, “The Ordinances of the Town of Blowing Rock, NC.”

In the column, Blowing Rock Ordinance No. 1 states, “It is unlawful to use any loud, boisterous, or profane language or to engage in any kind of affray or fight in the corporate limits of the town, and any person convicted of such, shall be subject to a fine of not less than $1 and no more than $10 at the discretion of the Mayor.”

As for those men who

No deposits lost. No compromise.

Blowing Rock My Hometown

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 49 thought they could come up to a resort town and just hang around – guess again. According to Ordinance No. 4, “All able-bodied men living in the corporate limits of the town between the ages of 18 and 45 years shall be required to work on the streets of the town upon notice of the street overseer for ten days out of each year.” As for the consequences of denying the dreaded and powerful Street Overseer, “any person failing or refusing to work as required by this ordinance shall upon conviction be subject to a fine not less than $1 or more than $10 at the discretion of the Mayor.”

While life in Blowing Rock has certainly changed since the late 1800s, it still is the lovely town that many know and love.