New Series! Sugar Grove and Western Watauga County
North Carolina: Road by Road

All photos and illustrations by Pat Johns ©2007
All Rights Reserved
See links to article references at the end of the article.

The western part of Watauga County in North Carolina is part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, some of the oldest mountains in the world. There are curving country lanes with beautiful vistas throughout the area. Old farmhouses, new developments, family cemeteries, farms, gardens and small businesses are the "common" sites in this area. Watauga County is rich in history as are the neighboring counties across the border in Tennessee. From the Native American Cherokee Indians through the Revolutionary War, the locally mixed loyalties of the Civil War and into today's time of a vibrant agricultural and tourist economy, the area is a mix of old and new.

See western Watauga County as you follow this series through its roads and trails. . .

North Fork Road

North Fork Road connects to Beaver Dam Road very near the Tennessee / North Carolina border and ends at Old Highway 421 in Zionville. It is a road of well-kept homes, gardens and lawns and an occasional Christmas Tree farm. The top of the road . . .

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Rush Branch Road

Rush Branch Road connects Highway 321 and Bethel Road at the Bethel Elementary School. The road starts upward immediately from Highway 321, curving up until you reach the long-range mountain views at the top . . .

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