Donna Gayle Akers's Books

Blowing Rock

By: Donna Akers Warmuth,Donna Gayle Akers

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Blowing Rock

By: Donna Akers Warmuth,Donna Gayle Akers

The beautiful and mountainous area of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, has a rich history dating back to the days when the Native Americans passed through on the Nickajack Trail, which led into Tennessee. The town derives its unique name from a rock outcropping near the town, where the winds defy gravity and have the ability to blow light objects thrown from the rock back to the rock. During the 1790s, several families settled the area, and by the mid-1850s, inhabitants of Blowing Rock along with summer visitors from Lenoir enjoyed the beauty and comfort of the mountainous area. The construction of the Lenoir-Blowing Rock Turnpike after 1845 provided easier access to "America's Switzerland," and visitors or "cottagers," as they were called, soon began building second homes in the area. The images contained within Blowing Rock provide readers with a glimpse into the small-town charm, friendly faces, and inspiring scenery that ensure the town's future as a destination for those who yearn for the comfort of mountain life.

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Page Count

132

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738516473

ISBN 13

9780738516479

Abingdon, Virginia

By: Donna Akers Warmuth,Donna Gayle Akers

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Abingdon, Virginia

By: Donna Akers Warmuth,Donna Gayle Akers

The charming town of Abingdon is nestled in southwestern Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains and situated along the Holston River. Originally known as Wolf Hills-a name bestowed upon the town by Daniel Boone-Abingdon was renamed in honor of Martha Washington's home in England. The town today enjoys a rich and varied palate suitable for residents and tourists, young and old alike. Images of America: Abingdon, Virginia celebrates the town's singular heritage by offering readers a rare find of almost 200 photographs, showcasing many well-known town entities, personalities, and businesses from the past century. These images portray such structures as the Stonewall Jackson Female Institute, the Abingdon Academy, the Belmont Hotel, and the Martha Washington Inn, as well as the Barter Theater, unique in its exchange of food and household goods for performances. Long-gone but rarely forgotten individuals also make appearances, allowing newcomers the chance to meet the people behind the names and longtime residents an opportunity to visit with old friends.

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132

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Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738514896

ISBN 13

9780738514895

Abingdon

By: Donna Gayle Akers

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Abingdon

By: Donna Gayle Akers

According to legend, in about 1760, Daniel Boone first named this hinterlands settlement "Wolf Hills." Incorporated in 1778, the town of Abingdon became the leading trade, business, and legal center for Southwest Virginia from the late 1700s to mid-1800s. With a key location along the Great Wagon Road, the community blossomed during the 19th and 20th centuries due to trade, railroad commerce, banking, industry, and its natural resources, such as timber and salt from nearby Saltville. However, from the 1960s to 1980s, downtown lost several historic landmarks to fire and demolition. Businesses began to move to outlying shopping centers, and small, locally owned businesses were replaced by national chain stores. Railroad traffic decreased and no longer moved goods and passengers. Previously the locus for commerce, transportation, and entertainment, the historic downtown area transitioned to an arts and tourist destination and to a unique crossroads service area with government centers, restaurants, speciality stores, offices, banks, and hotels.

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Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439659389

ISBN 13

9781439659380

Watauga County

By: Donna Gayle Akers,Brian Lambeth

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Watauga County

By: Donna Gayle Akers,Brian Lambeth

Following the Old Buffalo and Nickajack Trails, Native Americans and early settlers were the first citizens of present-day Watauga County. In 1752, Bishop August Spangenberg, the earliest documented explorer, traveled through this steep terrain and noted the necessity of crawling on hands and knees to stay balanced. Located among the Blue Ridge Mountains, Watauga County grew slowly with few settlers until after the Civil War. The Boone and Blowing Rock Turnpike began to open up the area to commerce and tourists in the 1880s. The establishment of the Watauga Academy in 1899, several ski resorts, and upscale residential developments has changed the landscape. The towns of Boone and Blowing Rock have been listed as some of the best small towns in America and continue to attract new residents and visitors.

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132

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Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738567469

ISBN 13

9780738567464

North Carolina Ski Resorts

By: Donna Gayle Akers

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North Carolina Ski Resorts

By: Donna Gayle Akers

During the early 1960s, local leaders in western and northwestern North Carolina were dedicated to developing winter recreational opportunities in the mountains. North Carolinas ski industry dates back to the winter of 19611962, when the Cataloochee resort in Maggie Valley developed the first ski slope in the state. Once thought impossible to make snow south of the Mason-Dixon Line, technological innovations in snowmaking allowed several other resorts to develop through the 1970s, including Appalachian Ski Mountain, Beech Mountain, Sugar Mountain, Wolf Ridge, and Ski Sapphire Valley, all of which still operate today. Images of smaller ski areas, such as Hound Ears, Seven Devils, and Mill Ridge, are featured to honor these now defunct clubs. Many of the present-day resorts have incorporated snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice-skating, and snow tubing, along with mountain biking trails for summer recreation on the slopes. North Carolina Ski Resorts showcases the rich recreational history of western and northwestern North Carolina.

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Page Count

128

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

1439649006

ISBN 13

9781439649008

Boone

By: Donna Akers Warmuth,Donna Gayle Akers

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Boone

By: Donna Akers Warmuth,Donna Gayle Akers

It was the Old Buffalo Trail that led both Native Americans and Daniel Boone to the site of present-day Boone, North Carolina, at an elevation of 3,333 feet. Located among the scenic and cool mountains of the High Country, Boone was for a long time a seasonal hunting spot with only a few settled families. After the Civil War the community's population began growing, and in 1899, the tiny town of Boone included 150 residents. In the 1880s, the treacherous and steep Boone and Blowing Rock Turnpike began to bring commerce and visitors to the mountains. Although this remote town was an unlikely location for a school, Watauga Academy was established in 1899, and it would later become Appalachian State University, one of the top-ranked Southern public colleges.

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Page Count

136

Publisher

Arcadia Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

0738515418

ISBN 13

9780738515410

Plumb Full of History

A Story of Abingdon, Virginia

By: Donna Akers Warmuth,Donna Gayle Akers,Mathieu Akers Marraud

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Plumb Full of History

A Story of Abingdon, Virginia

By: Donna Akers Warmuth,Donna Gayle Akers,Mathieu Akers Marraud

Abingdon, Virginia's Plumb Alley Day frames this story of two children discovering much more than the history of their grandmother's hometown. By the end of the day, Addie (13) and Owen (9) understand and appreciate much more than they expected about their place in their family and the history of the region.

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