The Rivers’ home was built in 1929 by Robert Campbell Rivers, Jr., the first publisher of Boone’s Watauga Democrat Newspaper as well as publisher of the Blowing Rock Rocket and Avery Journal in Newland. Eventually his daughter, author Rachel Rivers-Coffey, and her husband, photographer and reporter Paul Armfield Coffey, took over ownership and publication of the newspaper. Rachel and Paul published the newspaper until they sold the company in 1994. It was Rachel Rivers-Coffey’s wish to donate her family’s 13-acre property and house to the Town of Boone. The Town accepted the property as a piece of local history and to preserve the natural beauty of the property for the citizens of and visitors to Boone.

In 2005, a historic monument to town namesake Daniel Boone was erected on the property. The marker was redesigned and pieced together from the original monument that was erected in 1912 on what is now the Appalachian State University campus.

Behind the Rivers House, a trail leads up the hill to “Baby,” a sugar maple that is a North Carolina Champion Tree and thought to be one of the largest in the state.

Construction on the historic downtown Boone United States Post Office was begun in 1938 and completed in 1940. Erected as part of the Works Progress Administration funding program, the post office was meant to accommodate the growing population of Boone and an increased postal volume.

Recent restoration efforts have allowed for the preservation of many of the building’s beautiful original architectural components. Included in that restoration process was the mural on the east wall of the post office lobby. The mural, created in 1939 by Alan Tompkins of Stratford, Connecticut with input from local residents, depicts the town namesake, Daniel Boone.

The Downtown Boone Post Office was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. Visitors can stop by the post office at 680 West King Street.