The town of Boone is celebrating its 150th anniversary with night tours of a historic cemetery during October. The events highlight the town’s history and the stories of people who are buried there.
The cemetery sits off of Howard Street near Appalachian State University. It began as a private cemetery owned by the Councill family, some of the town’s first residents.
“Some of the oldest graves up there reflect the first citizens of Boone and Watauga County dating back to pre-Civil War,” says Bettie Bond, a local historian who is leading one of the tours.
The site is also where enslaved people and three Union soldiers are buried. All of these graves are located in a segregated portion of the cemetery.
These stories are part of the guided nighttime tours taking place this month. Other themes are women and veterans in the cemetery.
Eric Plaag with the Boone Historic Preservation Commission says there’s even a tour called "Bizarre Boone".
“What I'm trying to accomplish in these scripts is to tell the story of the town’s history through these sort of unusual tales," says Plaag. "So for example, the guy who shoots his leg off out hunting wharf rats, while that is a bizarre way to die, the real story there is 'Hey did you know that from the [late 1910s] well into the 1940s there was a very serious wharf rat problem in Boone?' And the reason why there was a serious wharf rat problem is because the railroad, which arrived in 1918, brought those wharf rats to the town."
The guided cemetery tours are free and registration is required. Walkups will also be welcome, if a spot becomes available. The night tours will take place each Friday this month and on Halloween Monday.
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