The Appalachian Mountains and the areas surrounding the High Country of North Carolina were a part of America’s first frontier. Many pioneers explored and settled in the isolated region. One of the explorers who wandered into the area around Boone was Daniel Boone, the name behind the town of Boone.
Who’s Daniel Boone?
Born on November 2, 1743, Daniel Boone was an American pioneer and frontiersman who became one of the first folk heroes of the United States. His father, Squire Boone, originally journeyed from Bradninch, England to the colony of Pennsylvania to escape religious persecution.
In 1748, Squire moved him and his family to North Carolina in the Yadkin Valley area. Once the French and Indian War began in 1754, Daniel Boone joined the North Carolina militia as a wagoner. From an early age, Boone proved himself to be a skilled woodsman and hunter. It is believed that he shot his first bear at age 12.
It wasn’t until 1767 that Boone led his own expedition for the first time. He brought a group of men along the Big Sandy River in Kentucky and went as far west as Floyd County.
After encounters with Indigenous tribes, in which he oftentimes stole their land, he relocated from Kentucky to what is now West Virginia and eventually to Missouri where he hunted until he died in 1820.
Why is Boone, NC, Named After Daniel Boone?
Daniel Boone was a celebrity in his day and age. Historically, it’s hard to know whether or not many of the tales people told about Boone were real or simply fictional. Watauga County named the area, previously known as Councill’s store, Boone in honor of Daniel Boone who spent many hunting trips in the area according to High Country Host.
One niece of Daniel Boone, Anna, was said to have married in a log cabin one mile east of Boone. His nephew, Jesse, also supposedly lived at the top of the Blue Ridge.
Daniel Boone Landmarks in Boone
There are several Daniel Boone landmarks in Boone you can visit.
You can visit seven different trail sites on the NC Daniel Boone Heritage Trail in Watauga County.
- Daniel Boone Cabin Monument, Rivers Park, 101 Clay House Dr. Boone, N.C.
- Meat Camp and Elk Knob State Park, 5564 Meat Camp Rd, Todd, N.C.
- Streetside Marker at Watauga County Courthouse, 842 W. King St. Boone, N.C.
- Daniel Boone with Hunting Dogs Statue – Appalachian State Duck Pond, Rivers Street, Boone, N.C.
- Boone Trail Highway Marker, Registration No. 10 in Sugar Grove, 1081 Old Hwy. 421, Sugar Grove, N.C.
- Boone’s Trace, Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 285.1
- Boone Trail Highway Marker, Registration No. 26, Blowing Rock, 1094 Main St.
Resources for you to consider:
https://wncmagazine.com/feature/real_daniel_boone https://ncdanielboonetrail.org/
https://www.exploreboone.com/things-to-do/history-travels-tours/