By Kris Testori
On Thursday, June 1, the town of Blowing Rock will celebrate Blowing Rock History Day. At this event, Mayor Charlie Sellers, along with the Blowing Rock Historical Society (BRHS) and the Village Foundation, will host the ribbon cutting for the 21 stations of the History Walk. “Our history walk will be a tremendous new community asset,” said BRHS president Tom O’Brien. “It is a marvelous way to bring our history to life,” he added.
The ribbon cutting is at 4 p.m. in Mayview Plaza, located at the intersection of Laurel Lane and Main Street. A celebration at the American Legion building will follow. The community is invited and there will be a free open bar and appetizers.
The Blowing Rock History Walk will consist of 21 stations, each with a historical narrative and many with seating. We were looking for places and ways to bring Blowing Rock’s past to our visitors and the entire community,” said O’Brien. “We intentionally pulled many compelling aspects of our history that tell the story of our evolution and people, events, and places that have made Blowing Rock what it is today.”
The self-guided tour begins on Laurel Lane near Main Street, taking visitors on a trip through the town’s history. It will proceed to Broyhill Park, around its beautiful lake, and then back up Laurel Lane to Main Street. The signs have QR codes where visitors can find more information about each location.
“This will be yet another community asset,” O’Brien said. “We believe a wide variety of people will enjoy the walk, including families that have lived here for generations, newcomers, and visitors. It will be one more thing for our visitors to do while in town, and we think it may help move some of the crowd from Main Street into our beautiful park one block away. We envision this will be a great place for picnics.”
The History Walk is a partnership between the town, the Blowing Rock Historical Society, and the Blowing Rock Village Foundation. The town provided the land for the stations. The Blowing Rock Village Foundation was the fundraising arm, soliciting individual contributions from local families and organizations. BRHC significantly contributed to the funds required to build the project, and its members authored the history walk content.
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