I just recently picked up this E. & H.T. Anthony stereograph of Chimney Rock Mountain. The image is not that clear, but the monolith can just be glimpsed near the top of the image, at about 11:45 to noon relative to the man (accompanied by a dog) seated on a rock in the Rocky Broad.
This was obviously taken at the same time as those Anthony stereographs depicted in my Chimney Rock Park and Hickory Nut Gap. The yellow mount (not pictured of course) suggests a date of anywhere between 1861-70, though I will conservatively date it ca. 1870.
Advertisement
Tags: Chimney Rock, E. & H.T. Anthony, Hickory Nut Gap, Rocky Broad River
July 20, 2009 at 5:48 am |
My family (Grant) was a prominent one in the Bat Cave area prior to 1900. They have all but disappeared from the area now, however. In your book Chimney Rock Park And Hickory Nut Gorge, on page 14, there is a photo of a Rocky Broad farmstead; I think it might be my family’s place which washed away in the flood. Do you have additional info on that photo? Or access to additional images from that era? I have four unpublished images of the aftermath of the flood in Bat Cave as well as some other pre 1900 images from the area that you may be interested in. It has always been reported in my family that my great great grandfather Burr Grant actually assisted his cousin, Rome Freeman in the original development of the park and was actually involved in the stunt of getting a mule to the top of the rock.
July 20, 2009 at 12:11 pm |
Thanks for your comment. I’ve been blogging a lot at work since last Fall and hardly keep up with this one anymore.
About all I can add about the photo you mention is that it was almost certainly taken by A.F. Baker of Hendersonville.
I have plenty of photos of the Chimney Rock section, and, though I probably used the best ones for the book, I continue to collect stuff — I also recently picked up some excellent flood pictures, including the scene of Bat Cave on my blog (wish I had them when I did the book). My plan is to use these additional materials for a narrative history of tourist development in the area, but right now I’m working on getting a house — existentials have to come before hobbies I guess!
I wonder if any of Bud Sumner’s columns in the Bat Cave newsletter might mention some of your relatives?
July 20, 2009 at 8:19 pm |
Thanks. I’m not familiar with Bud Sumner’s column; I’ll look it up. I didn’t realize it but I also have your book on the Forest City Lynching. My ancestor was very much mixed up in post civil war politics. It is reported that he was almost hung by Democrats shortly after the war. I am fairly certain he was a member of the Heroes of America/Red String Society and actively subversive in the Bat Cave area during the war. Apparently, a lot of the post war conflict was later swept under the rug and it’s very difficult to find much of anything about it. I’d love to know what other photos/stories you have about the Bat Cave/Bearwallow area. Please keep up the work; it’s fascinating.
Thanks for your reply.