Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

February 22, 2007 issue

Hickory Ridge Homestead Burglarized

Historical Association Requests Donations

Sometime within the past week or so, someone committed a crime against our past. Hickory Ridge Homestead, Watauga's own living history museum, was burglarized. Ancient 200-year-old doors were forced in. The log cabins were damaged and ransacked. The museum store was entered and everything from "tin" Revolutionary War soldiers to arrowheads were stolen, and much of what wasn't taken was damaged.

The blacksmith shop, restored last summer by two dedicated young Civil War enthusiasts under the sponsorship of an anonymous donor, lost almost all of its irreplaceable, historical tools, including an 85-pound anvil. The value of the crime is yet to be determined; inventories must be made. Most wood in the cabins is original, dating back to the 1700s. How do you measure the cost of something that can't be replaced? There is no price on deep heritage.

Many people know Hickory Ridge as the place that school children come to experience a touch of Watauga's past or as a community area to have a quiet picnic or take photos. Whoever violated these treasures stole from all of us.

Although some of the destruction may be covered by insurance, all will not be. The members of the Southern Appalachian Historical Association ask residents to look in their hearts, open up their wallets and help restore this heritage. Donations to Hickory Ridge, a nonprofit organization, are tax deductible. Mail contributions to Hickory Ridge Homestead, S.A.H.A. (Southern Appalachian Historical Association), P.O. Box 295, Boone, NC 28607.