Going back–w-a-a-ay back

You can live in a place all your life and fail to know everything about it.  A few years ago I came into the knowledge that the area of North Carolina where I grew up and live in today, known as the Piedmont, was once home to a rather large number of celebrated gunsmiths who made long rifles.  I had never heard of that.  I knew about a lot of historical things from this area, like the Battle of Guilford Court House, but long rifle makers?

That makes the piece in today’s Salisbury Post on long rifle makers of the Rowan school just that much better.  That one’s pretty much in my back yard.  How cool is that?