Michael Hardy brings the history of Watauga County to modern times by updating the two previously published books by John Preston Arthur in 1915 and by Daniel J. Whitener in 1949.

Born in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, Cratis was the first to go from the one-room elementary school in Caines Creek in Lawrence County to the high school in Louisa, the county seat. He attended Cumberland College, the University of Kentucky, and received his doctorate from New York University. He came to Appalachian State Teachers College in 1942 and in 1958 became Dean of the graduate school that is now named for him, a position held until 1975. He served briefly as acting chancellor and in recent years was special assistant to the chancellor.

This well-known history of Watauga County, North Carolina, is considered one of the best ever written. From Watauga County's 'Yankee Ancestry' to its role in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, nothing is overlooked.

Prior to its formation in 1849, Watauga County was a hunting ground for the Cherokee and part of the trail blazed by frontiersman Daniel Boone, for whom the county seat was later named. Primarily settled by whites after the Revolutionary War, many of the county's earliest families came to the Appalachians from the Piedmont region of North Carolina and, prior to that, from the North--New England, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. These settlers were mainly of European extraction--English, German, Scottish, Irish, Swiss, and Welsh--along with a smaller African representation. Nestled in the panoramic Blue Ridge Mountains and unimagined by its early agrarian inhabitants, Watauga would become one of North Carolina's premier tourist destinations and home to Appalachian State University. Primarily settled by whites after the Revolutionary War, many of the county's earliest families came to the Appalachians from the Piedmont region of North Carolina and, prior to that, from the North--New England, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. These settlers were mainly of European extraction--English, German, Scottish, Irish, Swiss, and Welsh--along with a smaller African representation. Nestled in the panoramic Blue Ridge Mountains and unimagined by its early agrarian inhabitants, Watauga would become one of North Carolina's premier tourist destinations and home to Appalachian State University.