Avery County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of 2000, the population is 17,167. Its county seat is Newland[1].
via Avery County, North Carolina – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
History
Avery County is the 100th and last county formed in North Carolina in 1911, from portions of Mitchell, Watauga and Caldwell Counties. Avery County was named for Waightstill Avery of Morganton, NC, a Reveloutionary War hero, a member of the North Carolina state legislature, North Carolina State Attorney and a State Senator.
Populated Places
- Banner Elk
The first white settlers of Banner Elk were Delilah Baird and John Holtsclaw, who came to the Big Bottoms of Elk in 1825, and settled on a tract of land containing 480 acres. This land included the Whitehead farm and extended to the present site of Grandfather Home for Children situated near Wildcat Lake. John and Delilah’s first child, Alfred B. Baird, was the first white child born in what is now the Banner Elk Township (Banner Elk Development Plan, 1967). Martin L. Banner established the first permanent settlement in 1848. Although the Banner family originally came from Wales, Martin Banner moved from Forsyth County located in the piedmont region of North Carolina. Eventually, the Banner family grew to 55 members, and the area where they lived became known as Banner’s Elk (Heritage, 1976). Other early settlers include the Moody, Dugger, Abrams, Von Canon, Keller, Smith, Lineback, and Foster families. The early settlers of the area were the people of northern European stock from what may be called the yeoman class: English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, German, and Dutch (Cooper, 1964). The community changed its name to Banner Elk when the North Carolina General Assembly incorporated the town in 1911.
via About the Town, Population, Geography of Banner Elk, NC. - Beech Mountain
Beech Mountain is a town in Avery and Watauga counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 310 at the 2000 census. The town is located atop Beech Mountain, one of the higher peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains range.
via Beech Mountain, North Carolina – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.The Town of Beech Mountain began as a private resort development in the mid 1960′s. Grover and Harry Robbins, of Blowing Rock, NC, started the resort along with 35 other investors. The original plan was for Beech Mountain to be an ideal second home for owners to escape the pressures of everyday life and enjoy various summer and winter sports.
via Town of Beech Mountain: Town History. - Crossnore
One of the earliest known settlers was George Crossnore who built a small cabin close to Clark’s Creek in the early 19th century. Hattie Parks Wright lobbied for the establishment of a post office in the village in 1883 and suggested naming the town after its original settler.
He did indeed live in what is now Crossnore, N.C. but it was in the late 1700″s. You will find information about him in your archives showing him there around 1783 and other years, but he and his family moved to Tennessee in the early 19th century. He is listed living in middle Tennessee in Stewart county in 1802.
via Crossnore, North Carolina – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. - Elk Park
Those who enter Avery County from the state of Tennessee are greeted almost immediately by the charming village of Elk Park. Once a bustling junction on the original Tweetsie Railroad line, Elk Park was one of the most populated areas of Avery County in the 1940s. The town was filled with workers mining iron in the township of Cranberry. When the iron stores were depleted and the mines closed, Elk Park was left almost frozen in time.
via Balcony of the Blue Ridge – Elk Park. - Grandfather
Grandfather is a village in Avery County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 73 at the 2000 census.
- Linville
This little township at the foot of Grandfather Mountain takes its name from the Linville River, which was named for William and John Linville who were killed by Indians about 13 miles south where the waters plunge into the deepest gorge in eastern America.
Linville was developed as a summer resort where families could escape the heat and mosquitoes that characterize summers in the south. The Yonahlossee Road (Cherokee for “trail of the bear”) was built in 1885 to connect Linville to Blowing Rock and a stagecoach line was started to bring vacationers to the Eseeola Lodge (Cherokee for “river of cliffs”). The chestnut bark-covered Eseeola Lodge continues to provide turn-of-the-century elegance and gourmet cuisine with a style unchanged in 100 years.
What may have been the first golf course in North Carolina was laid out in Linville in 1895. Today, the Linville Golf Club has an 18-hole championship course (designed by Donald Ross in 1924) that consistently ranks among the best courses in the Carolinas.
via Balcony of the Blue Ridge – Linville. - Minneapolis
- Newland
Newland was incorporated in 1913, as the county seat of the newly formed Avery County. Its original name was “Old Fields of Toe” because it is located in a broad flat valley and is at the headwaters of the Toe River.
Newland was a mustering place for Civil War troops. Toe is short for “Estatoe,” an Indian chief’s daughter who drowned herself in the river in despair because she could not marry a brave from another tribe.
via History of Newland, North Carolina. - Pineola
Pineola is an unincorporated community in Avery County, North Carolina, generally spanning out in a three mile radius from the intersection of US highway 221 and North Carolina Highway 181.[1] The area was originally known as “Saginaw” until the early 20th century.
- Seven Devils
The first known settler was Issac McClurd from Scotland, who originally settled in Lenoir, NC. There he received a grant for 2000 acres “at the head of the Watauga River”, which included our area. This occurred at approximately the same time that the famous Daniel Boone lived and hunted in Boone, NC.
Records exist showing that several families lived on our mountain during the next 150 years and the land was primarily used for farming. According to local folk, the lower end of the mountain became known as Mast Mountain and it produced good cabbage, potatoes, and tobacco. In fact, the present Town Hall location was a cabbage and potato patch. The upper end of the mountain was known as Valley Creek including a section known as Buckeye Hollar. This area was mainly used for raising cattle. High above the meadows were the predominant geographical features of the mountain, Hanging Rock, Four Diamond Ridge, and Hawksbill Rock, which were named in the early 1800’s.
Seven men on horseback braved an old wagon trail and observed these peaks one fortunate day in 1964. The four Reynolds brothers; Buck, Frank, Dan, and Herb, Ray Smith, George Hampton, and Gardner Gidley saw this magnificent mountain as something that should be shared by many. The L.A. Reynolds Industrial District of Winston-Salem, NC formed the Resort in 1965 and the founders were met with the challenge of naming the Resort.
At this time there was a rumor about an old man on the mountain who had seven sons “as mean as the devil”. People were heard commenting that in the winter the mountain was “as cold as the devils” or “as windy as the devil”. The founders wanted a catchy, unique name that would bring attention to the mountain. They noticed the repeated appearance of the number seven, including the seven predominant rocky peaks surrounding Valley Creek, as well as the many coincidental references to ”devils”. “Seven Devils” seemed to suggest a frivolous, mischievous resort where people could “experience the temptation of Seven Devils”.
via History. - Sugar Mountain
Since 1969 the Village of Sugar Mountain has become known as one of the High Country’s most attractive vacation destinations. Perhaps it’s because with a peak elevation of 5,300′ we have North Carolina’s largest ski and snowboarding resort, and the only one to feature a 1,200′ vertical drop. Or maybe it’s because of our challenging 18-hole golf course or our six Har-Tru clay tennis courts, where you can work on your backhand as soon as you’ve finished the back nine. Could it be the miles and miles of twisting mountain bike trails or the incredible views from the summer lift rides? It could be the rainbow of rhododendrons, mountain laurels and azaleas in the spring. Or maybe it’s the rich red, orange and gold hues of the autumn foliage.
Then there’s the annual Oktoberfest celebration… There are just so many reasons and seasons to visit the Village of Sugar Mountain all year long!
via Sugar Mountain Tourism & Government.
This is a good summary about the place I lived when I was a young girl. Expecially about Delilah Baird and John Holtsclow. I would like to know more about them if you have any more information please e-mail to me. Thank you.