Blowing Rock in Watauga County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Home of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Carter

ca. 1885

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 30, 2022

1. Home of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Carter Marker

Inscription. One of blowing rock's oldest remaining intact houses, the Victorian H-plan with a two-tier porch and an adjacent cottage was built by local craftsmen using native materials of chestnut, pine and Grandfather Mountain stone. Dr. Carter, the first registered medical physician in Blowing Rock, was one of the three original commissioners when the village was chartered in 1889. His wife, Mary Nelson Carter, started the Mission House Lend-a-Hand Library in the cottage and taught the first Sunday school outside on the lawn.

In recognition of this property's significance. this marker is placed by the
Blowing Rock Historical Society and the Blowing Rock Art & History Museum

Erected by Blowing Rock Historical Society • Blowing Rock Art and History Museum.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Education • Science & Medicine. A significant historical year for this entry is 1885.

Location. 36° 7.874′ N, 81° 40.821′ W. Marker is in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, in Watauga County. It is on Laurel Drive west of Wallingford Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker

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is at or near this postal address: 131 Laurel Dr, Blowing Rock NC 28605, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s and he Mountains in the High Country. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Creekside (within shouting distance of this marker); Blowing Rock Art & History Museum (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mayview Park (about 400 feet away); Schenck House (about 500 feet away); Rumple Memorial Presbyterian Church (about 500 feet away); Uncle Joe Clark and Becoming a Town (about 500 feet away); Watauga Hotel and Memorial Park (about 500 feet away);

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, October 30, 2022

2. Home of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Carter Marker

Lenoir-Blowing Rock Turnpike (about 500 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blowing Rock.

Regarding Home of Dr. and Mrs. Charles Carter. Dr. Charles Carter earned his medical degree from Columbia University in New York during the Civil War, and practiced in Philadelphia before coming to Blowing Rock. He carried books from his wife's library to read to his bedridden patients, many of whom were illiterate. In addition to her community work, Mary Nelson Carter also published a collection of sketches of western North Carolina local life, with stories of the Civil War and its aftermath in Appalachia. Their daughter, Marion Hamilton Carter, was a Progressive-era author, artist and social activist. She is best known for her suffrage novel, The Woman With Empty Hands: The Evolution of a Suffragette.

"Lend-a-Hand" Library image. Click for full size.

H.S. Deal & Co. via State Library of North Carolina (Public Domain)

3. "Lend-a-Hand" Library

Mary Nelson Carter's "Lend-A-Hand Library" began in a small cottage on her lawn. In October 1913, it was moved to the Mission House Reading Room on Main Street in Blowing Rock. Mrs. Carter worked with Rev. William Savage (Episcopal minister in Blowing Rock from 1902-1917) in raising several hundred dollars for the construction of the building. The Mary Nelson Carter Memorial Library fell into disuse after Rev. Savage was reassigned to Virginia Beach. In 1918, a local resident collected a number of the books from the floor of the Mission House, ultimately preventing their destruction in the building's 1923 fire. These few books, augmented by small private donations, were all that remained of the Lend-A-Hand Library. In September of 1928, an anonymous benefactor donated about six hundred volumes to the library. Blowing Rock's Community Club helped finance the purchase of 1,000 more books. The Community Club decided to share this bounty with the local school, and on November 13, 1928, the Blowing Rock Community and School Library held its grand opening. – North Carolina State Library

Credits. This page was last revised on November 18, 2022. It was originally submitted on November 16, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 343 times since then and 50 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on November 16, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. 3. submitted on November 18, 2022, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.