1940 Flood Marker

On August 13, 1940, as much as 14 inches of rain fell in Watauga County, triggering more than 2,000 landslides in the county and heavy flooding in downtown Boone. Throughout the area, massive flooding washed out large portions of the Linville River Railway tracks. The railroad had been losing money for years by that point, and the company decided that it was not economically feasible to rebuild the railroad.