by mcncdmin | Aug 13, 2019 | Economics, People
This article features recollections of Gary Forbes of Mocksville, NC, the son of Paul and Elsie Burleson Forbes. He was born in 1948 in Spruce Pine at Williams Clinic. My earliest memories are of living in the Hamme Tungsten Queen Mine Camp in Vance County, NC,...
by mcncdmin | Aug 6, 2019 | Economics, History
On June 17, 1955, the Museum of NC Minerals was officially opened at Gillespie Gap with North Carolina Governor Luther Hodges presenting the museum to United States National Park Service Director Conrad L. Wirth. The museum was a joint project between the state of...
by mcncdmin | Jun 25, 2019 | Economics, People
The building in the photograph was on the corner of Greenwood Road and Highland Avenue, just across from Town Hall, according to Max L. Gouge (1926-2015), who made notes and drew a map on the reverse of the photo. His notes state that the original Esso Station in...
by mcncdmin | Jun 19, 2019 | Economics, People
J.E. Burleson operated this mica house atop Burleson Hill, the location of the current Spruce Pine Town Cemetery. Burleson began opening mica mines in 1894 and ground mica beginning in the 1900s. He was the largest individual mica operator in the region. His...
by mcncdmin | Apr 8, 2019 | Economics
Before the days of the “big box” chain stores, Spruce Pine had many “mom and pop” grocery stores that served the area. There were also many smaller stores in almost every community. There was even a branch of the Dixie Home Store on Lower Street for several years that...
by mcncdmin | Jan 20, 2019 | Communities, Economics, Places
This exotic European name was penned by Judge Heriot Clarkson of Charlotte who established this resort community near the Blue Ridge Parkway in 1910. The resemblance of the area to the mountains of Switzerland gave rise to the name. At an altitude of 3,500 feet above...
Recent Comments