Resorts-Inns and Cabins in Lake Lure!
HICKORY NUT GORGE NEWSLETTER! FREE SUBSCRIBTION!
The Hickory Nut Gorge is a Magical Place filled with Indian tales, mountain characters, and myths that we all have
heard!
                        DID YOU KNOW:
MYTHS AND FACTS ABOUT LAKE LURE AND WESTERN NC
That the Bat Caves are THE largest fissure Caves in the United States?

That our lake has been described as one of the ten most beautiful man made lakes in the world by National Geographic  
Magazine?

That the Gorge and the Asheville area  is called "America's New Age Mecca" by CBS News


That the town under the lake was named Buffalo? Please send us any history you may know of this mysterious town.


That some of the world's most endangered and rare flowers grow right here in the Bat Cave Preserve.


That on HWY 9 right out of Bat Cave is United Research Light Center, where an angelic being appeared,  


On the mountain is a dome that is always open where one can meditate/prayer at anytime. Do visit this unique mountain  
treasure. There is an energy here that I do hope that you will feel.I especially love the " peace pole" in front of the Dome.


That just four miles From  the dome at the Light Center is Earth Haven, an internationally known ecological, permaculture  
community .


That our area is a major  energy vortex and that there is a geodesic dome that sits on one of the energy vortexes up in our  
mountains near our Gorge. If you feel better, younger in our area it just may be due to these energy fields.  Do ask me about it
one day!


That former President Jimmy Cater spent his honeymoon in the Gorge?


That President Roosevelt F. Scott Fitzgerald and so many others stayed in our Gorge?


That F.Scott Fitzgerald and his wife's favorite place was our area and the Asheville area.

That The Inn in Lake Lure has its own ghosts? Do ask my daughter Missy Meade our Lake Lure Stylist and other locals about  
seeing and hearing them!


The stories of mysterious appearances of " other worldly people and events" is well documented in the Gorge in numerous  
publications going back to the 1800's. Perhaps you have seen some? Do tell us!


That there are at least 3 Ex CIA agents living in our community! Don't ask their names:):)


That Hand Made in America selected our area as one of the few communities on its heritage trail!


That our Gorge has a very active resident populations of federally endangered Indiana bats and rare green salamanders.
Lesser-known treasures of the gorge include 37 species of rare plants, such as the federally endangered white irisette, and
occasional sightings of such rare bird species as the peregrine falcon, the cerulean warbler, and the American bald eagle.


That scenes From the films Dirty Dancing, A Breed Apart,Firestarter,some scenes From thunder Road, & Last of the Mohegans  
were filmed in and around Lake Lure, and it is the site of the 2006 HGTV Dream Home.


That "Between 1915 and 1920, more than 75 movies were filmed in Hickory Nut Gorge. Stars like Clark Gable, Kathleen  
Turner, Patrick Swayze, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jennifer Grey, Claude Akins, Drew Barrymore, Madeline Stowe, and Gloria
Swanson lived briefly in the Lake Lure-Chimney Rock area while filming such movies as “Dirty Dancing,” “Last of the
Mohegans,” “My Fellow Americans,” “A Breed Apart,” and “FireStarter.” were later produced.  From Carolina Country Magazine


That Lucius Morse's wife Elizabeth is credited with naming the lake (and the town).


That Hickory Nut Gorge was a favorite spiritual area of the Cherokee Indians. No wars were ever fought in the Gorge ( perhaps  
that is the reason why it is so peaceful???)


That the Indians believed that the Hickory Nut Gap was the gateway to the land of "tso-lungh " - tobacco - and they believed it  
was guarded by spirits and stories of the "little people " still abound in this rocky valley.


That historians regard the Gorge as one of the oldest routes through the southern Appalachians.


Sherrill's Inn was a way-station for stagecoach travelers and cattle drivers on the "Hickory Nut Turnpike," which connected  
Rutherfordton and Asheville, throughout most of the 19th century. The inn was built sometime between 1839 and 1850 for
Bedford Sherrill, who was appointed a Commissioner by the 1841 General Assembly for the purpose of building and keeping
up the Turnpike. State roads such as the Hickory Nut Turnpike offered the only effective commercial access between Western
North Carolina and the outside world. Sherrill's Inn was opened to travelers at least as early as February of 1850.


That our spectacular 14-mile gorge  is carved by the Hickory Nut Creek and the Broad River.


Throughout the early 1800s, numerous water wheels and gristmills were built within the gorge for grinding grain and generating  power. One of
these water wheels still exists in Bat Cave and stone ruins of another gristmill site can be seen on Little Bearwallow Farm in Gerton.


That In about 1815, the dirt road was improved and became Hickory Nut Gorge Turnpike. Also known as Drover’s Road, it was  
used by herders to get cattle, hogs, geese, turkeys, pigs and other animals to market to be sold or traded for goods or cash
needed in outlying mountain communities.



The Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus) can be found in our Gorge and in only VERY few places of the entire world.


"The mystery of Rumbling Bald Mountain began (during modern history) in 1874 as tremors rattled dishes and broke windows.  
Dust, smoke and eerie sounds emanated From the rugged peak as shocks dislodged boulders inside the mountain and
opened massive fissures. Residents were terrified, and even the National Speleological Society sent scientists From
Washington, D.C., to investigate.  " From Carolina Country Magazine



"The mysterious Little People  of Hickory Nut Gorge were part of the drama of tso-lungh, the magical tobacco plant with curative  
powers. According to the Cherokee legend, Dagul-Ku, the Goose, stole the sacred tobacco plant and took it to the land of Hng,
where the Little People lived. When the Cherokees tried to regain the tobacco, the Little People hurled huge rocks down upon
the warriors. Then an old man magically turned himself into a giant hummingbird whose wings dislodged enormous boulders
and created a giant tornado, which swept away all of the evil spirits in Hickory Nut Gorge. Today, some people insist that when
the weather is just right, you can still see the Little People on the high cliffs of Hickory Nut Gorge. "From Carolina Country
Magazine.


"The Lodge on Lake Lure was built in 1937 as a memorial to George Penn, a highway patrolman who was killed in the line of  
duty. The lodge was a retreat for state troopers and their families for many years until it became a public inn in 1990. The spirit
of George Penn remains there still, having been seen many times in room 4. Guests have thought he was a real man who was
in the wrong room until he left by walking through a closed door"- Ghosts of NC,


In 1811, newspapers published a tale of a ghostly calvary fight in the sky, saying it had been witnessed by an old couple who  
lived in the Hickory Nut Gorge. According to the old folks, on several evening in succession, two huge hosts of calvary met in
the sky, charged at one another, and struggled in a colossal battle. The old couple said they could hear bugle calls, the shouts
of struggling men a, and eventually, the forces would part in retreat. " From Chimney Rock Village


Rock climbers From all over the world consider Rumbling Bald Mountain to one of the finest areas for their sport.



Just over the mountain in Fairview is a fantastic Labyrinth. "Labyrinths date back to prehistoric time, and are perceived as  
sacred space. They seem to have been an integral part of many cultures, such as Celtic, Mayan, Greek, and Native American.
Today, labyrinths are still being used throughout the world as meditative and healing tools. When considering the labyrinth,
there are only two choices: walk it, or don't walk it! If walked, it can change one's life." From http://www.labyrinthcenter.com/


The Main Street Historic District in Rutherfordton and fourteen individual properties across the county have been listed in the  
National Register of Historic Places. The first listings, Trinity Lutheran Church (St. John's Episcopal Church) in Rutherfordton
and Fox Haven Plantation in Green Hill Township, were made in 1972.


Our Gorge was a part of the great Underground Railroad allowing slaves to flee the Plantation located at Greenhill: Fox Haven  
Plantation, circa 1775


That there Bill's Creek community was known as Uree  until 1947 and that "the world's smallest post office" for the community  
was located behind where the Mountains Library now stands.From " Good Old Uree" by Martha Jane Norbitt  Melton, 1981            where the
Mountains Branch Library now.



George Penn, a highway patrolman who was killed in the line of duty. The lodge was a retreat for state troopers and their  
families for many years until it became a public inn in 1990. The spirit of George Penn remains there still, having been seen
many times in room 4. Guests have thought he was a real man o George Penn, a highway patrolman who was killed in the line
of duty. The lodge was a retreat for state troopers and their families for many years until it became a public inn in 1990. The
spirit of George Penn remains there still, having been seen many times in room 4.  Guests have thought he was a real man
who was in the wrong room until he left by walking through a closed door!


That there was on the lake a place known as The Pink Palace. The group Eternal Values studied the works of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, the
Bible, Paramahansa Yogananda, the Bhagavad-Gita Upanishads, the Mother, Kahlil Gibran, Gandhi, and others. He exposed many to a study of
comparative religions linking the common thread between all religions in an effort to make us all better Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists,
Taoists, Hindus . Many lessons were learned on how to live in peace and harmony with others of different forms of spirituality.

This spirit of harmony, diversity, and acceptance is alive and growing in our area.
If you know of any corrections or additions to the above, please let us
know by e-mail us at
[email protected]