This year, Chimney Rock Park is celebrating its centennial anniversary. Here are some of the changes and landmarks that have advanced the park over the past century:
• 1870s: Jerome B. Freeman purchases the rock and surrounding land from a speculating company. The price: $25.
• 1885: Freeman and some partners create a trail up the mountainside, allowing the public access to the top of Chimney Rock.
• 1900: Dr. Lucius B. Morse comes to Western North Carolina, hoping to recover from tuberculosis, and first visits Hickory Nut Gorge. Morse pays 25 cents to ride a donkey to the top of Chimney Rock Mountain.
• 1902: Morse and his brothers, Hiram and Asahel, purchase Chimney Rock and surrounding 64 acres for $5,000.
• 1914: Work begins on bridge across Rocky Broad River.
• 1916: Bridge dedication, July 4. 12 days later, flood waters from Hurricane Hilda swell the Rocky Broad River and destroy the bridge. A new bridge is built.
Flagpole visible from highway is erected on top of chimney.
• Circa 1920: The Pavilion, a three-story dining room that seats 200, is built overlooking the park. (It has since been torn down.)
• 1920: Cliff Dwellers Inn is built at the base of the chimney. It is later torn down, making room for the elevator entrance.
• 1926: Another of Morse’s visions, Lake Lure, is formed.
• 1927: Town of Lake Lure is incorporated.
• 1929: The stock market crashes, forcing Morse to choose between Lake Lure and Chimney Rock Park. He chooses to keep the park.
• 1934-35: The stone entrance, offices and restrooms are built.
• 1946: Dr. Lucius B. Morse dies in July of tuberculosis. He is buried in the cemetery next to Chimney Rock Baptist Church.
• 1947: Plans begin for elevator.
• 1949: The elevator, rising 26 stories inside the rock, opens. Lucius Morse’s brother and co-owner of the park, Hiram, cuts the dedication ribbon. The road to the top is paved. The Sky Lounge is built at the top of the elevator shaft.
• 1955: The first Easter Sunrise Service, a tradition that continues today, is held.
• 1956: The first Hillclimb sports-car race is held. The annual races are run for the next 50 years.
• 1963: The Jeep Trail shuttles visitors to Hickory Nut Falls. The attraction continues until the energy crisis of the 1970s.
• 1981: The Sky Lounge burns. It is rebuilt in 1982.
• 1981: The Meadows, a five-acre area used for special events, including weddings, is opened.
• 1987: The Nature Center is formed.
• 1991: Scenes from The Last of the Mohicans are filmed high up on the park’s cliffs.
• 1992: Todd B. Morse, great-great nephew of Dr. Lucius Morse, becomes Park president and general manager. A new nature center opens at the Meadows.
• 2000: The Four-Seasons Trail opens, running from the Meadows to the top of the mountain.
• 2002: Chimney Rock Park celebrates its centennial. Events include the Music on the Mountain concert series and the burial of a time capsule.
