Watauga County, North Carolina

Watauga County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 54,086. Its county seat and largest community is Boone. The county is in an exceptionally mountainous region, known as the High Country. It is the home of Appalachian State University, which has approximately 20,023 students as of August 2020. Watauga County comprises the Boone, NC Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History
The county was formed in 1849 from parts of Ashe, Caldwell, Wilkes, and Yancey counties. It was named for the Watauga River, whose name is said to be a Native American word. Meanings include "beautiful water," "whispering waters," "village of many springs," and "river of islands."

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 313.32 sqmi, of which 312.44 sqmi is land and 0.88 sqmi (0.28%) is water.

Watauga County is extremely mountainous, and all of the county's terrain is located within the Appalachian Mountains range. The highest point in the county is Calloway Peak, the highest peak of Grandfather Mountain (shared with the adjacent counties of Avery and Caldwell), which rises to 5,964 ft above sea level. At an elevation of 5,506 ft above sea level, Beech Mountain is the highest incorporated community east of the Mississippi River. Boone, the county's largest city and county seat, has the highest elevation (3,333 feet) of any city over 10,000 population in the Eastern United States.

Isolated by mountainous terrain from the remainder of North Carolina to the east, Watauga County was described in the 19th and early 20th centuries as one of the Lost Provinces of North Carolina.

National protected areas

 * Blue Ridge Parkway (part)
 * Julian Price Memorial Park
 * Moses H. Cone Memorial Park
 * Pisgah National Forest (part)

State and local protected areas

 * Beech Creek Bog State Natural Area
 * Elk Knob Game Land
 * Elk Knob State Park (part)
 * Foscoe Grandfather Community Center
 * Grandfather Mountain State Park (part)
 * Green Valley Community Park
 * Pisgah National Forest Game Land (part)
 * Turtle Island Preserve

Major water bodies

 * Buckeye Creek
 * Craborchard Creek
 * Howard Creek
 * Laurel Creek
 * Meadow Creek
 * North Fork New River
 * Sharp Creek
 * South Fork New River
 * Watauga River
 * Yadkin River

Adjacent counties

 * Ashe County – northeast
 * Wilkes County – east
 * Caldwell County – south
 * Avery County – southwest
 * Johnson County, Tennessee – northwest

Climate
As with most of North Carolina's High Country, the climate of Watauga County is that of a humid continental climate, characterized by considerably cooler and more extreme weather than in other parts of the state. Dramatic and unexpected changes in the weather are not uncommon in the county, particularly for precipitation. This is partly due to the elevation of the county, and partly due to orographic lifting, which causes precipitation to fall more readily in Watauga County than in lowland areas to the south and east. Summers can be very warm, with temperatures commonly in the 80s and occasionally (although rarely) in the 90s. Snow usually starts in November, tapering off by March, and occasional snowfall occurs in April. Windy conditions tend to be amplified across the county due to the rugged terrain and high elevation.

Because of the cold weather in Watauga County, the area is home to several ski resorts. Among them is Appalachian Ski Mountain.

Transportation
Watauga county, like most of the high country, has no Interstate. Most of the county is crossed by mountain roads, maintained by the state and county. Downtown Boone, adjacent to Appalachian State University, is very walkable. The Blue Ridge Parkway in the county is sometimes used as a commuter route due to its placement around populated areas—for example, it is the fastest route between the unincorporated community of Bamboo and the town of Blowing Rock.

Airport
A small general aviation airstrip (FAA Identifier: NC14) is located in Boone, however, it has no scheduled commercial service. As such, commercial airline passengers must typically utilize the airports at Charlotte, Greensboro in North Carolina, or the Tri-Cities in Tennessee.

Public Transportation
There is a public transport system in Boone provided by AppalCART that services the downtown and some outlying areas at no cost, in addition to paratransit, and rural route services for a small fee. Sunway Charters, a charter bus company, operates in cooperation with Greyhound Lines to provide coach bus service from Boone to Charlotte and Greensboro, called the Mountaineer North–South and the Mountaineer East–West, respectively.

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 54,086 people, 21,077 households, and 11,452 families residing in the county.

2000 census
At the 2000 census, there were 42,695 people, 16,540 households, and 9,411 families residing in the county. The population density was 137 /mi2. There were 23,155 housing units at an average density of 74 /mi2. The racial makeup of the county was 96.45% White, 1.59% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.45% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. 1.46% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race.

According to the 2000 Census the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Watauga County were: English (25.1%), German (22.5%) and Irish (13.3%). Most of those claiming Irish ancestry in Watauga county are actually of Scots-Irish/Ulster-Scots Protestant background and not Irish Catholics.

There were 16,540 households, out of which 23.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.40% were married couples living together, 6.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.10% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.80.

The age distribution is 16.30% under the age of 18, 27.80% from 18 to 24, 23.40% from 25 to 44, 21.50% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. The overall age distribution and median age are greatly affected by the presence of Appalachian State University in Boone. For every 100 females there are 99.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,611, and the median income for a family was $45,508. Males had a median income of $29,135 versus $22,006 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,258. About 7.20% of families and 17.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.50% of those under age 18 and 10.60% of those age 65 or over.

Government
Watauga County is governed by an elected Board of Commissioners who provide administration policy for the appointed County Manager.

Watauga County is a member of the regional High Country Council of Governments.

County sheriff and municipal police
The Sheriff's Office provides court protection, jail management, and protection of all county owned facilities for all of Watauga County and patrol and detective services for the unincorporated areas of the county. The towns of Boone, Beech Mountain, Blowing Rock, and Seven Devils have municipal police departments.

Fire protection and emergency services
Fire protection is provided by 13 fire departments in Watauga County including Beaver Dam, Boone, Beech Mountain, Cove Creek, Deep Gap, Foscoe, Meat Camp, Shawneehaw, Stewart, Simmons, Todd, and Zionville. The Emergency Management Office coordinates resources for emergency services.

Politics
Historically, Watauga's strong Unionist sympathies – though not as strong as North Carolina highland-mountain counties like Avery and Mitchell, or counties with Quaker, antislavery histories like Yadkin – meant the county voted mainly Republican during the Solid South Democrat era, except in Presidential landslides. The only Democrats to gain an absolute majority of the county's vote in the 20th century were Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 and 1936, and by a very narrow margin, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, while Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and Bill Clinton in 1992 obtained pluralities in three-cornered contests. The growth of Appalachian State University, with its predominantly left-leaning electorate, has strengthened the Democratic Party's standing and it carried the county in 2008, 2016 and 2020. The county has also proved favorable for Libertarians, with Watauga being Gary Johnson's best county in all of North Carolina in both his 2012 and 2016 campaigns.

Economy
Some notable examples of the county's economy are:
 * The county produces heavy amounts of Fraser fir Christmas trees.
 * The growth of produce was once a mainstay in the agricultural economy of the county. Cabbage was once widely grown, so much so, that a sauerkraut plant was once located in Boone. The plant has long been closed. Boone Creek, the main creek that runs through Boone and the Appalachian State University campus is still nicknamed Kraut Creek since it is said that the creek used to smell of sauerkraut juice coming out of the plant.
 * The Watauga County Farmers' Market has been operating in Boone since 1974.
 * The Beech Mountain Resort is one of the few ski resorts operating in the Southeastern United States.
 * Appalachian State University is a major economic driver for the county and the region as a whole, generating US$2.2 billion in statewide impact and US$573 million in local impact as of 2022.

K–8 schools

 * Bethel
 * Blowing Rock
 * Cove Creek
 * Grace Academy
 * Green Valley
 * Hardin Park
 * Mabel
 * Mountain Pathways Montessori School
 * Parkway
 * Two Rivers Community School
 * Valle Crucis

High school

 * Watauga High

Colleges and universities

 * Appalachian State University, part of the University of North Carolina System and enrolls more than 19,000 students
 * Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute, satellite campus

Towns

 * Beech Mountain
 * Blowing Rock
 * Boone (county seat and largest community)
 * Seven Devils

Unincorporated communities

 * Aho
 * Bamboo
 * Cove Creek
 * Deep Gap
 * Foscoe
 * Matney
 * Meat Camp
 * Sherwood
 * Silverstone
 * Sugar Grove
 * Todd
 * Valle Crucis
 * Vilas
 * Zionville

Former community

 * Shulls Mill

Townships

 * Bald Mountain
 * Beaverdam
 * Blowing Rock
 * Blue Ridge
 * Boone
 * Brushy Fork
 * Cove Creek
 * Elk
 * Laurel Creek
 * Meat Camp
 * New River
 * North Fork
 * Shawneehaw
 * Stony Fork
 * Watauga