BOONE — “When God gives you a vision, He grants provision.” This was the refrain of guest speaker Wayne Underwood as he delighted members and guests at the Watauga County Heritage Museum Annual Meeting on Sept. 12 by recounting how he saved the iconic Dougherty House from destruction.

In the 1980s, Appalachian State University leaders seemed determined to rid the campus of the humble home of its founders, B.B., D.D., and Lily Shull Dougherty, to build a parking deck. Despite protests from staff and locals, they hauled it to App State property on State Farm to be burned, according to Underwood.

The Dougherty House was originally built in 1903 on the campus of what is now Appalachian State University by founder Dauphin Disco Dougherty and was moved to its current location in 1989, where it also underwent restoration in later years.

Underwood told the members and guests that the App State administration put up one impediment after another, from demanding that Underwood establish a nonprofit requiring a 501©(3) to insisting on increasing amounts of financial backing needed to move the house.

Underwood is a man of deep, sincere and unshakable faith. Each time he received a demand, he replied to the App State personnel, “When God gives you a vision, He grants provision.”

Each time, he returned with the demand fulfilled. In 1989, he moved the historic house down the Blowing Rock Road to Mystery Hill, set it on a foundation, and created the Appalachian Heritage Museum.

When Underwood heard about the nascent Watauga County Heritage Museum’s struggles to find a home, he had another vision. This time, his vision was to lease the Dougherty House, full of artifacts befitting the early 1900s but still incompletely curated, to the WCHM. He contacted Steve Sudderth, vice chair and chair of the Site Selection Committee, with his proposal. The Board enthusiastically accepted his generous pro bono lease.

Members and guests rose to give Underwood a standing ovation after his speech. Sudderth then read a proclamation from the WCHM Board of Directors enumerating many of Mystery Hill’s and the Underwoods’ contributions to historic preservation. The Proclamation was followed by Chair Diane Cornett Deal’s presentation of a beautifully framed Certificate of Recognition.

Much of the house will serve as a museum to the Dougherty family, but a dedicated room will be set aside for rotating Watauga County exhibits designed to show the museum represents the whole county, not just certain communities or industries. Some exhibit features will be swapped out regularly.