Appalachian State University

Located in what was considered the "lost provinces," the small school that became Appalachian State University provided a much-needed education for the economically depressed population of western North Carolina.The regional university that today boasts over 17,000 registered students had its humble beginnings as Watauga Academy in 1899. Blanford Barnard "B.B." Dougherty and his brother Dauphin Disco "D.D." established the school for mountain children in the western North Carolina town of Boone.