WCHS Awards Honorary Hall of Fame Spot to Dr. Eric Plaag

WCHS/Digital Watauga Team
February 22, 2023

For its inaugural class of 2022, The Watauga County Historical Society inducted twelve historical figures–-living and dead–-who have contributed to Watauga County’s history and/or literature, or to the preservation thereof. Nominations and voting were held by officers of the Watauga County Historical Society and the Digital Watauga Project Committee members, producing a diverse pool of deserving honorees. Perhaps because we cast the net far and wide, and were looking for the types of folks traditionally underrepresented in this type of recognition–-such as women and people of color–-our sights fell short of nominating the person who has pulled this effort (and so many others) together in the name of historical preservation: Dr. Eric Plaag.

Though his accomplishments and contributions to the fields of history and education are too extensive to list here, for the sake of brevity we will paint his background in broad strokes, with focus on his Watauga County contributions.

Born and raised in Virginia, Eric completed his BA in Religion and Philosophy at the College of William and Mary and an MFA in Fiction Writing at George Mason University. After spending the better part of a decade in New England, Eric moved to South Carolina, where he earned a PhD in American History at the University of South Carolina in 2006 and began his career in history, conducting research and writing on various topics. He is the owner of and principal historical consultant at Carolina Historical Consulting, LLC.

In 2011, he and his wife Teresa moved to Boone, and as WCHS president Bettie Bond affectionately puts it, “nothing’s been the same since.” Seeing a need for an organized approach to historic preservation in the face of the continual push and pull between interests of Appalachian State University, the town of Boone, and the county, Eric soon immersed himself in the history of Boone, with particular focus on downtown and its historical buildings and landmarks. His local contributions include the Comprehensive Architectural Survey of Downtown Boone, for which he dedicated well over 500 hours of volunteer service to complete. This survey includes highly detailed historical and architectural write-ups of various buildings in the downtown area.

Eric’s leadership roles with the Watauga County Historical Society and the Boone Historic Preservation Commission have provided needed energy and focus to local history, with a concentration on active progress. This culminated in the recent establishment of the downtown historic district and the protections afforded it. He has also served on the Appalachian Theatre Board of Trustees and was instrumental in the rehabilitation of that establishment. He frequently speaks at local marker unveilings and has conducted walking tours of Boone. Most recently, he was involved with the popular Boone Cemetery tours that took place last October, and wrote the Arcadia book, Remembering Boone, as part of the Boone 150 celebrations. All proceeds from the book go towards funding the Digital Watauga Project.

In 2014, Eric co-founded the Digital Watauga Project, WCHS’s primary effort, which aims to preserve the High Country’s archival memory through the digital capture and preservation of historic photographs, documents, and other materials. As volunteer and chairperson, he has guided a dedicated team of volunteers, technicians, and interns in creating an increasingly professionalized community archives initiative. Those who have been around the Digital Watauga team know how much each member contributes to this project, and there is now a framework for Digital Watauga to outlive its creators. Still, the project relies on the expertise of its guiding north star.

On February 25, 2018, Eric was honored by the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution with the NSDAR Historic Preservation Medal, the organization’s highest award for historic preservation efforts. In keeping with the timing of this award, we are making this Hall of Fame announcement near the official Eric Plaag Day!

As members of the WCHS and Digital Watauga, we would be remiss not to acknowledge someone who has been such a bastion of historical preservation, and we are thus awarding Dr. Eric Plaag (unbeknownst to him until now) an honorary induction into the Watauga County Historical Society Hall of Fame. We are grateful for his knowledge, passion, mentorship, and friendship–all of which make the place we call home that much richer.  

Nominations for other inductees to the 2023 Watauga County Historical Society Hall of Fame are still open, now through the end of March. To nominate a figure, past or present, visit: https://www.wataugacountyhistoricalsociety.org/hall-of-fame