Chimney Rock Park and Hickory Nut Gorge

From the opening of Chimney Rock Park by Jerome Freeman in 1890 to Dr. Lucius Morse�s dreams for Lake Lure in the 1920s, the development of tourism in the Hickory Nut Gorge area is one of the untold stories of the region�s history. For much of the 19th century, the area was remote and known to few; Freeman was perhaps the first to truly appreciate Chimney Rock�s potential, but it took the invention of the automobile and the completion of the Charlotte to Asheville Highway in 1915 for that potent