Watauga

Appalachian State University
Appalachian Cultural Museum
The Appalachian Cultural Museum seeks to foster an understanding of the people of the Appalachian Mountains and to serve as a laboratory for new museum ideas. Through exhibits, publications, and special events, the Museum presents the rich traditions of the region. The Museum strives to represent western North Carolina in a manner that is authentic and non-stereotypical.

Southern Appalachian Historical Association, Inc.
Hickory Ridge Homestead Living History Museum and Horn in the West Outdoor Historical Drama
Hickory Ridge Homestead, located on the grounds at Horn in the West, is an 18th century living history museum highlighting the daily lives of mountain pioneers. Visitors to Hickory Ridge Homestead can tour several restored and meticulously furnished period structures, see demonstrations of weaving, hearthside cooking, and other traditional activities, and enjoy many other educational programs given by costumed interpreters. Horn in the West Historical Outdoor Drama is presented late June through mid August each year and tells the story of Daniel Boone and the Revolutionary War in western North Carolina.

Appalachian State University
Archives and Records
University Archives and Records is the official archival agency for Appalachian State University. It collects, preserves, and makes available for researchers, by appointment, University records of historic or administrative value, as well as special donated collections. The office operates the records-management program mandated by North Carolina law.

Watauga County Library (Appalachian Regional Library System)
Watauga County Library Austin T. South Genealogy Collection
The Watauga County Public Library's Austin T. South Genealogy Collection consists of vertical files, clipping files, published material, microfilm, and other sources useful in the studies of local history and genealogy in the Watauga County and surrounding region.

Tweetsie Railroad
Frank T. Williams Railroad Museum
Tweetsie Railroad is the oldest theme park in North Carolina and is based around an historic narrow-gage steam locomotive, Engine No. 12 of the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad Company (ET&WNC), which began operating in 1881 from Johnson City, TN, to Cranberry, NC. The Frank T. Williams Railroad Museum at Tweetsie collects and displays artifacts original to the Tweetsie theme park and the ET&WNC as well as to Tweetsie's longtime marshal, famous North Carolina singing cowboy Fred Kirby.

Cove Creek Preservation and Development
Doc and Merle Watson Folk Art Museum
The Doc and Merle Folk Art Museum collects and preserves materials relating to Appalachian folk arts and the careers and music of Doc and Merle Watson, encourages the protection and interpretation of historic assets with local and regional significance, and makes these materials available to as diverse an audience as possible.

Appalachian State University
W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection
The W.L. Eury Appalachian Collection is now housed in Special Collections on the 4th floor of the Belk Library and Information Commons. We have more than 40,000 volumes, 16,000 reels of microfilm, 5,300 microfiche, 2,000 linear feet manuscript, 200 linear feet of clippings files, and thousands of maps. Railroads have become an area that we are especially strong in with our Appalachian Rails and Railways Collection.

Mystery Hill
Dougherty House/Appalachian Heritage Museum/Native American Artifacts Museum
Mystery Hill is a family oriented, multi-faceted tourist destination featuring a "Mystery House" and "Hall of Mystery" attraction, the historic Dougherty House and Appalachian Heritage Museum, and a Native American Artifacts Museum. The "Mystery House" and "Hall of Mystery" claim to exhibit evidence of a local gravitational anomaly that causes alterations in the general laws of physics. Also on the property is the 1903 Dougherty House, former home of D. D. and B. B. Dougherty, the founders of Appalachian State University, moved from the ASU campus to this site and now interpreted as an Appalachian Heritage Museum depicting turn of the last century middle class life in the mountains. Also within the Dougherty House is the Native American Artifacts Museum displaying over 50,000 pieces American Indian material culture.

Appalachian State University
Stock Car Racing Collection, Belk Library
The ASU Stock Car Racing Collection is a repository for written, recorded, and imaged archival material documenting all levels of stock car racing from local tracks to international events. Collections include magazines, books, photographs, race programs, posters, scrapbooks, clippings, correspondence, technical manuals, racing rules, audio and video media, and other publications and manuscripts. Towards furthering its mission of "preserving racing history for future generations," the collection is open to the public, and the library is actively seeking additional collections and papers concerning racing.