The Junaluska Story

Horton's Ice and Coal Store

In the early 1900s Horton’s Ice and Coal Store was owned and run by Reverend Ronda Horton, minister of the Boone Mennonite Brethren Church in Junaluska.¹ Horton’s influence extended beyond his church. He was committed to the education of children within the community, leading him to serve on the school board for Black schools in Boone. Horton also helped with projects that aimed to improve local infrastructure, such as the construction of one of Boone’s first hand-packed roads.²

Roberta Jackson, a Junaluska native noted that Horton, “worked briefly at the Daniel Boone Hotel before starting his own ice and coal business on North Depot Street, at the base of the Junaluska community, serving both Black and White patrons and earning Horton a town-wide reputation as a savvy and successful businessman.”³ The members of the Junaluska Community took pride in Horton’s Coal and Ice Store. It made the people happy to see a black-owned business do well. Junaluska resident Joseph Henry Grimes said, “There was only one business owned by blacks at the time…Nobody else around here had a black business around here back in those days.”⁴

While Horton is primarily known for his work as a minister, his store also helped provide warmth and sustenance for the people of Junaluska and the town of Boone.

Reverend Ronda Horton

Watauga Democrat. “Watauga County Historical Society Announces Rev. Ronda Horton as Hall of Fame Inductee.” Watauga Democrat, 15 Feb. 2022, www.wataugademocrat.com/news/local/watauga-county-historical-society-announces-rev-ronda-horton-as-hall-of-fame-inductee/article_15183140-7f9c-5e3b-9f02-5dd04e7b137f.html.

Bibliography

Keefe, Susan, ed. Junaluska: Oral Histories of a Black Appalachian Community. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2020.

Keefe, Susan, and Jackson, Roberta. “Junaluska: An African American Neighborhood in Boone.” African Americans in Western North Carolina and Southern Appalachia Conference, 2018, https://libjournals.unca.edu/aawnc/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Junaluska-An-African-American-Neighborhood-in-Boone-2.pdf.

Edwards, Madalyn. “A Guided Tour Through Boone’s Historic Black Landmarks.” The Appalachian. January 29, 2025. https://theappalachianonline.com/a-guided-tour-through-boones-historic-black-landmarks/.

“Watauga County Historical Society Announces Reverend Ronda Horton as Next Inductee to the WCHS Hall of Fame.” Watauga County Historical Society. February 20, 2022. https://www.wataugacountyhistoricalsociety.org/blog-1/2022/2/20/watauga-county-historical-society-announces-reverend-ronda-horton-as-next-inductee-to-the-wchs-hall-of-fame.