Boone is a town located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, United States. Boone's population was 17,122 in 2010. Boone is the county seat of Watauga County and the home of Appalachian State University. The town is named for famous American pioneer and explorer Daniel Boone, and every summer since 1952 has hosted an outdoor amphitheatre drama, Horn in the West, portraying the British settlement of the area during the American Revolutionary War and featuring the contributions of its namesake. It is the largest community and the economic hub of the seven-county region of Western North Carolina known as the High Country.In 2012, Boone was listed among the 10 best places to retire in the U.S. by U.S. News.