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==History== Spruce Pine was founded in 1907, when the [[Clinchfield Railroad]] made its way up the [[North Toe River]] from [[Erwin, Tennessee]]. The town was originally centered around a tavern operated by Isaac English, which was located on an old roadway that ran from [[Cranberry, North Carolina|Cranberry]] down to [[Marion, North Carolina]]. The Old English Inn still stands at its original location near the center of town. In 1923, after an [[African-American]] escaped convict allegedly raped a local white resident, a large armed white mob rounded up scores of black men who were laboring on a road construction project and forced them to leave town on [[boxcar]]s. North Carolina Governor [[Cameron Morrison]] deployed National Guard troops to Spruce Pine so that the workers could return and complete the road.<ref>Elliot Jaspin, ''Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America'' (New York: Basic Books, 2008), pp. 201-218.</ref> The railroad, combined with a rapidly expanding mining industry (the town is the namesake of the famous [[Spruce Pine Mining District]]) made Spruce Pine the largest town in the Toe River Valley, as it became the hub of commerce and culture for the area. Spruce Pine was the home of The Feldspar Company and Spruce Pine Mica, and other major mining interests had operations in and around the town. The Spruce Pine Mining District has high-purity [[quartz]], a mineral required in a variety of important products, such as [[semiconductor]]s.<ref name="n902">{{cite web | last=Alexandria Sands | first=Megan Morrone | title=Helene: Destruction hits major source of semiconductor mineral | website=Axios | date=2024-10-01 | url=https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2024/10/01/hurricane-helene-tech-chip-shortage-spruce-pine-quartz-supply | access-date=2024-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Impact of Hurricane Helene on The Quartz Corp in Spruce Pine | website=The Quartz Corp | date=2024-10-01 | url=https://www.thequartzcorp.com/articles/impact-of-hurricane-helene-on-the-quartz-corp-in-spruce-pine | access-date=2024-10-03}}</ref><ref name="z969">{{cite web | last=Zehnder | first=Katherine | title=Sibelco: Spruce Pine quartz mine operations “shown resilience” | website=Carolina Journal - | date=2024-10-04 | url=https://www.carolinajournal.com/sibelco-spruce-pine-quartz-mine-operations-shown-resilience/ | access-date=2024-10-04}}</ref> Spruce Pine is the exclusive supplier of sand to [[Augusta National Golf Club]].{{cn|date=March 2025}} [[Image:Spruce Pine-27527-2.jpg|thumb|left|{{center|Railroad tracks and train station in Spruce Pine (2008)}}]] With the decline in use of railroads to ship goods, along with increasing automation in the mining industry, the town recently has seen its fortunes dwindle and has undertaken a major effort to reinvent itself. Tourism has become a major economic force in the region, and the town's proximity to the [[Blue Ridge Parkway]], combined with its location near the edge of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, has helped make Spruce Pine a travel destination for many. The town also boasts the moniker of "The Mineral City of the World".{{cn|date=March 2025}} On August 4, 2007, the downtown area of Spruce Pine was threatened when an arsonist set fire to several buildings downtown. The fires, which brought firefighters from four counties around Spruce Pine, severely damaged the building that housed Cheapskates Music on Lower Street and caused some tense moments when it seemed that the fires might spread out of control and consume the downtown area. The town suffered flooding and devastation as a result of [[Hurricane Helene]] in 2024. The [[Downtown Spruce Pine Historic District]] and [[Gunter Building]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>
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