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When Dr. Lucius B. Morse rode his horse through Hickory Nut
Gorge for the first time in 1900, he was captivated by its rugged
beauty. He was especially intrigued by the towering Chimney
Rock and was soon dreaming of a plan that would shape the rest
of his life and those of his older twin brothers Hiram and Asahel.
Morse firmly believed that the gorge could be developed in a way that
could preserve its natural beauty while making it more accessible to the rest of
the world. He had paid 25 cents for a mule ride to the Chimney and its
spectacular view and felt certain that others would welcome the chance to
do the same. Immediately, he wrote to Hiram and Asahel sharing his vision
and urging them to come see the area for themselves. And, not long after receiving their letters, the twins headed east to North Carolina.
The story of Chimney Rock and Lake Lure cannot be told without telling the story of a man - Lucius B. Morse - who demonstrated what can be accomplished by vision and foresight, coupled with stick-to-itiveness to accomplish his dream!
Born in 1871, the youngest son in the family, he had grown up in Missouri and had been educated through medical school. He was a practicing physician when he found out he had tuberculosis and was advised to seek a more healthful climate. When he heard of the thermal belt of Western North Carolina and its wholesome properties, and a TB sanatorium in Hendersonville, he came to investigate. He loved to wander around the area - his favorite trip was to ride horseback down to Chimney Rock to view the giant monolith towering over the ten-mile gorge. He was so intrigued by it that he paid a man 25 cents to take him by donkey to see it from the top. It was from these wanderings that his dream was conceived (not only of the Park but of the development of Lake Lure and the town of the same name) that would become an all consuming interest for which he worked untiringly until his death. Jerome B. ("Rome") Freeman was the owner of Chimney Rock at the time having purchased it and the 400 acres in Rutherford County surrounding the "Rock" sometime around 1870 from a speculation company for $25.00.
It was Freeman who conceived the idea of making a trail and a base and erecting some sort of stairway to the top of the "Rock". By the pioneer efforts of Freeman and several other locals,
Chimney Rock was opened to the public in 1885 and saw the beginnings of the great attraction it is today.
With the financial backing of his older twin brothers, Asahel of Kansas City and Hiriam B. of St. Louis, Morse acquired 64 acres of Chimney Rock Mountain including the Chimney and cliffs from Freeman in 1902 for $5,000, fully realizing the possibilities in developing a natural scenic attraction. (Many small tracts have been purchased throughout the years, so the property now comprises nearly 1000 acres.)
At the time, all the tourists to the area were brought from the railroad stations of Hendersonville and Rutherfordton by carriage or they came on their own by horseback. There had been a makeshift bridge to the top of the Rock built in 1914, but Dr. Morse and his brothers built a bridge across the Rocky Broad River and started a three-mile narrow dirt road up to the base of the Chimney to a parking place. It was dedicated on July 4, 1916. Soon after, the great flood of 1916 (Hurricane Hilda) washed out the bridge and part of the road along with most of the bridges in Western North Carolina. But that didn't dampen their spirits as they went right back to rebuilding, giving rise to today's modern two-lane paved road. (A new steel bridge with wooden planks and rails was built to replace the old structure during the winter months and was completed by the opening of the season, March 1984.)
After the bridge, they added a stone gatehouse two-thirds of the way up the road with a gatekeeper's lodge beside it (still on the road up the mountain). Around 1920, a 200 person (three story) dining pavilion was built for a lunch stop for weary travelers half way up the trail from the parking lot to the top of the Chimney. The Pan-American Highway delegates met here in 1924. But gradually people got out of the habit of walking up the trail to eat and the Pavilion as a restaurant was removed. A small part remained as an overlook and rain shelter until it was also torn down to become what is Vista Rock today.
Guilford Nanney, a local man with inventiveness and skill, was responsible for the first trail (now the Cliff Trail) and for the complicated series of stairways that lead from the parking lot around the Pulpit Rock and the Rock Pile to the top of the Chimney. This was the beginning of the modern improvements, vantage points and the trai system to Hickory Nut Falls that exist in the Park today. Around 1920, the Cliff Dweller's Inn was built with a row of ten, two and three bedroom cottages that stretched along a ledge at the south end of the parking lot. It was unusual in that the back wall of the lobby was the five mile thick side of the mountain. In 1934-35, the huge stone pylons forming a wall and the present entrance were built. This project also included construction of company offices, a ticket office, restrooms, a reflecting pool and an improved parking area on the street level (Hwy. 64/74). Asheville architect and designer, Douglas Ellington, often went with the men into the woods to select rocks for the face of the walls which included moss and lichens to make the wall appear like it was ages old. As time passed, visitors did not relish walking the 400 steps on the trail from the parking area to the summit of the Chimney and beyond to the Falls. In 1948, plans were drawn for an elevator to take people to the summit. The out-moded Cliff Dweller's Inn had to be torn down to make way for the tunnel and the elevator shaft and provide more parking spaces. Blasted out of the solid granite cliff, a 198-foot tunnel led into the mountain to the elevator, with a vertical shaft of 258 feet, which now takes you to the top in approximately 42 seconds. A massive piece of construction, it took eight tons of dynamite and 18 months to complete. The elevator was opened to the public in 1949, the same year the entrance parking lot, three mile drive and upper parking lot were paved.
The Sky Lounge, a gift shop and snack bar, was then built on the top of the elevator. In September, 1981, this original Sky Lounge burned down, and in 1982 the existing Sky Lounge was rebuilt in its place with the aid of a helicopter.)
In the spring of 1963, a deep trail was added running to the base of Hickory Nut Falls and ending a few feet from the end of the 40G+ foot drop Due to the liability, the jeeps were discontinued in 1977 and the trail became known as the Forest Stroll walking trail. A multi-faceted Nature Center, with one exhibit devoted specifically to the Morse fam>ly and their involvement in Chimney Rock history, was opened in the fall of 1987 Developed by the Park naturalist, Elisabeth Feil, is designed to give the visitor an introduction to not only the history, but the botany, geology and other special aspects that make the Park a truly natural, as opposed to man-made, attraction.
Dr. Morse and his brothers are deceased and a bronze plaque has been dedicated to their memory on top of the "Rock.". The Park is still privately owned by Lucius 8, Morse, III, the great nephew of 13 Lucius B. Morse, and his son, Todd Baker Morse, president and general manager of Chimney Rock Company.
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