40 YEARS

Little-Known Facts About Beech Mountain Quiz

Prepared by the Beech Mountain Historical Society

How well do you know Beech Mountain?  Try this fun quiz and find out! Good Luck, and thanks for helping us Celebrate 40 Years!

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    1. What famous movie (based on the book by Frank L. Baum) inspired an attraction on Beech Mountain which has been responsible for drawing thousands of visitors to the mountain each year?
      1. Ghostbusters – 1984
      2. Around the World in 80 Days – 1956
      3. The Wizard of Oz – 1939
      4. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast -1991
    2. How many glazed bricks made up the Land of Oz “Yellow Brick Road” at the Beech Mountain theme park when it first opened?
      1. 40,000
      2. 65,000
      3. Over 100,000
      4. Green AstroTurf is laid out each year for the entrance to the Emerald City.
    3. What famous actress and her daughter attended the Land of Oz opening day ceremony in June 1970?
      1. Elizabeth Taylor and Liza Todd
      2. Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher
      3. Betty White and Dolly Parton
      4. Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson
    4. What year did Autumn at Oz, an annual celebration of the Land of Oz, began?
      1. 1995
      2. 1993
      3. 2000
      4. 2010
    5. What year did the Land of Oz theme park shut down operations?
      1. 1979
      2. 1980
      3. 1990
      4. Still in operation
    6. What was the name of the corporation which first started building a year-round resort on Beech Mountain in the late 1960, which split into 3 separate organizations and are now know as The Beech Mountain Club, the Beech Mountain Ski Resort and the Town of Beech Mountain?
    7. Where was the original clubhouse for Beech Mountain Club members?
    8. Where was the Beech Mountain Airport?
    1. Why is the part of NC Hwy 184 which goes up Beech Mountain named for Grover Robbins, Jr.?
    2. How many golf courses were originally to be built on Beech by CCC?
    3. What architectural style was envisioned for Beech by Grover Robbins?
    4. What was the Red Baron Room?
    5. How many hiking trails are there on Beech Mountain?
    6. How many miles of hiking trails are there on Beech Mountain?
    7. Which is the oldest hiking trail on Beech Mountain?
    8. Who maintains all the trails?
    9. What is the newest hiking trail?
    10. When is the best time to hike on Beech Mountain?
    11. Are dogs allowed on the town trails?
    12. How many paved walking trails are there on Beech?
    13. In September 1984, why did seven elephants walk up Beech Mountain Parkway?
    14. What was the original name of the ski slope now called “White Lightening?”
    15. What do the names “Purple People Mover,” “Green Bean,” “Green Pea,” “Orange Blossom Special,” and “Blue Max” refer to?
    16. Why did Jean-Claude Killy, Spider Sabich, Otto Tschudi, and Billy Kidd come to Beech Mountain?
    17. What was the price of an adult weekend ski ticket in 1981?
    18. What are Pole Cats and why are they on Beech Mountain’s ski slopes?
    19. In the summers of the early eighties, downhill skiing took place on the Beech Mountain Resort slopes. How was this done?
    20. Which body of water serves as the main water source for the Town?
      1. Coffey Lake
      2. Watauga Lake
      3. Buckeye Lake
    21. For what FREE wintertime amenity is the Town of Beech Mountain known?
      1. a swimming pool
      2. race car track
      3. a merry go round
      4. a sledding hill
    22. What is the name of the 2.7 mile stretch of road that the town recently completed paving connecting the Town to Highway 321 and providing easy access to Watauga Lake and other TN attractions?
      1. Buckeye Creek Road
      2. Cherry Creek Road
      3. Pond Creek Road
      4. Tennessee Trailway
    23. What is the name of Beech Mountain’s new tent camping facility?
      1. Secret Garden
      2. Beech Bonfire Park
      3. Shane Outpost Park
      4. Sticks and Stones Campground
    24. Old timers waited for this tree to flower, indicating that the ground had thawed, before holding funeral services, but we all look forward to it snowy white flowers that stand out in the Beech Mountain landscape in early spring. What is it?
    25. What large whiskered carnivore lives on Beech Mountain, is very secretive, can weigh up to 40 pounds, but most people have never seen it?
    26. Unlike their hulking two-pound grey relatives, these bold and brave rust-colored climbers only weigh about 1/2 pound and eats beech nuts. What are they?
    27. You might be shocked if you flipped over a rock in a Beech Mountain creek and found this three-pound, two-foot-long slimy amphibian!
    28. According to the Visitor Center, the Town has approximately how many year-round residents?
      1. 100
      2. 350
      3. 1200
      4. 5000
    29. The Town’s average summer population is approximately 5,000 individuals. What is the Town’s average winter population?
      1. 7,000
      2. 500
      3. 10,000
      4. 000
    30. Beech Mountain is the highest incorporated Town east of the Mississippi. What is the recorded elevation?
      1. 3500
      2. 4000
      3. 5506
      4. 8000
    31. Which famous road cyclist used Beech Mountain Parkway to train for the Tour de France?
      1. Lance Armstrong
      2. Peter Sagan
      3. Chris Froome
      4. George Hincapie
    32. In 2020, Beech Mountain generated over $___million in revenue for the High Country.
      1. 10
      2. 25
      3. 54
      4. 42

     

THANKS to the Beech Mountain Historical Society (BMHS) for creating this quiz.

More Information from the Beech Mountain Historical Society

The Beech Mountain Historical Society put together these interesting facts about the Town to test your knowledge and showcase the unique events which have occurred on Beech Mountain. The Society is open to members who are interested in finding out more about Beech and preserving its rich history.  For more information about the Historical Society, please email Pat Wright pwright1113@aol.com.

Beech Mountain Museum

BMHS also manages the Town’s History Museum located in the lower parking lot of Fred’s General Mercantile.  The Beech Mountain Historical Society is a non-profit voluntary organization which maintains a free-access historical museum in Beech Mountain, North Carolina. Call 828.387.9283 for Museum Days/Times of operation.

The Museum will host two NEW Exhibits this year opening in June.

Ray Hicks Listening Station

The Beech Mountain Museum includes exhibits focused upon pre-resort history, especially upon the families who have lived on the mountain for generations. One family is the Hicks family. Ray Hicks became well-known in this region of Appalachia for his traditional “Jack Tales.” Folk-Legacy Records in Huntington, Vermont, produced a recording of Ray Hicks telling his stories in 1963, entitled “Ray Hicks of Beech Mountain, North Carolina, Telling Four Traditional ‘Jack Tales.'” The museum will install a listening station to permit visitors to hear these tales.

The listening station at the Ray Hicks exhibit will consist of a small touchscreen with each of the four stories. A visitor can choose one and listen with earphones. Each story lasts about ten minutes.

Battle of the Beech

In 1864 the Battle of Beech Mountain was fought. A squad of ten men from Tennessee, claiming to be Confederate soldiers, raided the area, stealing horses and shooting residents. Major Bingham, officer of the Confederate Home Guard made a retaliatory raid. He took a Union soldier prisoner at Heaton, and recaptured the stolen horses. Later they passed through Banner Elk and camped about ½ mile outside of the town on Beech Mountain near Balm. Jim Hartley, a Union Scout, was guarding the trail that led from Blowing Rock to Shulls Mills and saw the campfires. He met with Polly Aldridge who lived on Beech Mountain above the campsite. Together, they worked out a plan.

When Bingham broke camp, Polly walked through the group of marching soldiers asking if any of them had seen her spotted cow. After surveying the situation, she ran down the path (now Hwy 184) to Bower’s Gap and reported that Bingham had taken an alternate route. Hartley pursued and overtook the marching columns and a battle then raged that claimed two lives. It has been known since that time as the “Battle of the Beech”.

 The display will include a diorama of the Battle along with explanatory boards and photos.

More Beech Mountain Information

Members of the Historical Society published The History of Beech Mountain Book which is available for purchase at Fred’s General Mercantile.  The Town of Beech Mountain Visitor Center is also a great resource for Town information and is located next to Town Hall on Beech Mountain Parkway.