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Named for the frontiersman Daniel Boone, the town of Boone was first laid out in 1850 and officially incorporated in 1872. Nestled in an Appalachian stream valley, the town of Boone was initially little more than a sleepy, ramshackle county seat, prompting one 1888 visitor to describe it as “a God-forsaken place.” In 1899, the founding of the Watauga Academy (today’s Appalachian State University) began a long history of synergy and occasional friction between town and gown. The 1918 arrival of the Linville River Railway launched the “Watch Boone Grow” campaign, turning Boone into a thriving commercial center. After World War II, improved roadways, cheap automobiles, and the nearby Blue Ridge Parkway made Boone a mountain tourism hub. The confluence of these forces—higher education, mountain tourism, and a commercial economy—has sometimes threatened Boone’s identity, but Boone’s reputation as an idyllic escape nevertheless endures.

John Hairr is an award-winning author and maritime historian who explores the past of unique and often forgotten places. He returns to the Cape Fear country for his latest photographic look into the region’s past. 

Kure Beach, North Carolina The sandy dunes stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape Fear River may not have looked impressive, but Fort Fisher, North Carolina, was a key part of the coastal defenses protecting the most important link in the lifeline of the Confederacy. Blockade runners and naval raiders alike sheltered for cover under the protection provided by powerful artillery batteries, which warships of the Union Navy dared not challenge. Modeled by the fort’s commander, Col. William Lamb, after Russian-engineered designs, the sandy ramparts defending the New Inlet entrance to the Cape Fear River eventually became the largest fortifications in the South, gaining the nickname “Confederate Gibraltar.” During the waning days of the war, Union commanders went to great lengths to destroy the fort, thus closing the vital port of Wilmington to Confederate blockade runners. The woefully undermanned defenders fought bravely, turning back the first Union assault in December 1864 and would no doubt have repulsed the second had promised reinforcements arrived. After fierce hand-to-hand combat, the garrison was overwhelmed by superior numbers, and Fort Fisher fell on January 15, 1865.

Carved out of the rural landscape of what was once New Hanover County, Duplin County has cultivated its own unique history. Originally home to Native American tribes such as the Tuscarora, by the 1700s the region would see the settlement of its first Europeans, the Welsh. By the time it was officially established in 1750, Duplin County would be home to people of English, Scots-Irish, Swiss, German, and African descent. The completion of the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad during the 19th century would bolster Duplin's economy and transform the landscape, with towns such as Warsaw, Wallace, Rose Hill, and Faison springing up along its tracks. An agricultural hub of North Carolina, many of Duplin County's residents have scratched out a living from its fertile soil, raising everything from tobacco and strawberries to cucumbers and livestock. The county's agricultural legacy has since been passed down to a new generation of farmers, with Duplin now being home to the Carolina Strawberry Festival and the Muscadine Festival.

From Wilmington, Fayetteville, Greenville, New Bern, Elizabeth City, Wilson, Kinston, Goldsboro, and many points in between, this book offers a brief look at many of the historical asylums and sanatoriums, as well as temporary hospitals of war and disaster, in Eastern North Carolina. It shows what they were and what they became as they transformed into the great hospitals of today. Many of these old buildings have long since been torn down or reused in a variety of ways seldom connected to their past. This book provides a glimpse of these great buildings, several of their artifacts, and images of what health care used to be in Eastern North Carolina and the role medicine has played as the region has grown.

Discover the history of the New Farmers of America in this collection of historic photographs.

African Americans have contributed greatly to the history of American agriculture. One of its most compelling stories is the New Farmers of America (NFA), which was a national organization of Black farm boys studying vocational agriculture in the public schools throughout 18 states in the eastern and southern United States from 1927 to 1965. The organization was started at the suggestion of Dr. H.O. Sargent, federal agent for agricultural education for Blacks, who felt the time was ripe for an organization of Black agricultural students. Operating within the auspices of the "Separate but Equal Doctrine," the NFA started at Virginia State University in May 1927 with a few chapters and members and concluded in 1965 with more than 1,000 chapters and more than 58,000 active members, merging with the Future Farmers of America (FFA) as a result of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Antoine J. Alston, PhD, serves as professor and associate dean for academic studies within the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University. Dexter B. Wakefield, PhD, serves as professor and associate dean for academic programs within the School of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at Alcorn State University. Netta S. Cox, MSEd, MLS, serves as associate professor and head of Serials, Government Documents, and Agricultural Liaison for F.D. Bluford Library at North Carolina A&T State University, the source of the majority of historic photographs in the book.

North Carolina's State Prison was typical of American prisons in the 19th century, but with an important difference. North Carolina put most of its inmates outside prison walls to work on road camps and prison farms for the purpose of getting useful work out of them. Opened in 1870, the prison in Raleigh housed only a fraction of the prisoners. Those inmates were for the most part too old, too sick, or too feeble to handle anything other than light institutional work details. This book explores all three components of North Carolina's early prison system, including its use of prison chain gangs, and clarifies how a penitentiary differs from a reformatory, correctional institution, or community-based facility.

Founded in 1796, Concord experienced the evolutionary growing pains that many Southern towns faced in the 19th and 20th centuries. Concord has shifted from agricultural hamlet to textile town to a city of progress and innovation, and it is currently the 10th-largest city in North Carolina and home to a population of almost 100,000.

Situated on the Pasquotank River in northeastern North Carolina, Elizabeth City is known as the "Gateway to the Albemarle." Since its founding in 1793, this small yet industrious river port has relied firmly upon the water as a source of prosperity as well as gratification. During the modern era, the rise of both prominent maritime-based enterprises and notable leisurely pursuits took hold and flourished. From its harbor, Jennette Brothers Wholesalers, Texas Oil, Norfolk & Southern Railroad, and the Globe Fish Company plied the rivers and sounds, bringing their goods and services. By its shores, the Elizabeth City Shipyard constructed and launched dozens of rescue and combat vessels in support of national defense. At the foot of Water Street, the James Adams Floating Theater regularly entertained audiences, and sailing enthusiasts flocked from across the country to compete in and watch the Moth Boat Regattas. Today, along Mariners' Wharf, the Rose Buddies welcome arriving boaters, and near the riverfront, the Museum of the Albemarle continues to promote and interpret the region's history and culture.