N.C. buys Chimney Rock for new state park
Source: citizen-times.com, by Melissa Stout
February 02, 2007
CHIMNEY ROCK — For more than 10 years, Jennifer Humphreys has been a season pass holder to Chimney Rock Park.
She was amazed last year when she heard the “pristine” park full of hiking trails, waterfalls and rock cliffs was up for sale.
“I was shocked that it might turn into some development and not be available to the average person. It’s just such a beautiful place,” Humphreys said. “I was very disheartened, and hopeful that people at the state and national level would try to preserve it.”
Humphreys and others who didn’t want to see the private park developed got some good news this week.
The state will spend $24 million to buy the scenic property — adding it to about 2,000 acres it already plans to make a part of a new Hickory Nut Gorge State Park.
“The Morse family has been great stewards of Chimney Rock for well over a century,” Gov. Mike Easley said Monday. The family “put public good over private gain, and I want to thank them for that.”
Tears welled up in Chimney Rock Park President and General Manager Todd Morse’s eyes as he talked about the memories he had of camping and hiking in the park as a boy and with his own son.
“Though I can’t tell you how many nights’ sleep I’ve lost over trying to do the best I could for this place, the people here, the community, and our business,” Todd Morse said. “I’m grateful to put my head on the pillow tonight and know that what we've done today will allow me to sleep well with the knowledge that this special place is protected ..."
Getting attention
To express her concern that Chimney Rock Park be preserved, Humphreys wrote letters to Todd Morse and local, state and national representatives.
She wasn’t alone in her desire to see the land stay undeveloped.
Jim Proctor, mayor of Lake Lure, created the SaveChimneyRock.com Web site. The group’s main focus was to keep the state and Chimney Rock Park negotiating.
“We didn’t want any mudslinging,” he said.
Proctor said the group was very effective getting people’s attention. Seven counties, 34 municipalities and 19 organizations passed a resolution supporting preservation of the park.
“One official in Raleigh said we were obnoxiously effective,” he said.
The past
Since Jerome B. Freeman built a stairwell to the summit of Chimney Rock in 1885, the property has been a tourist attraction.
In 1902, Lucius B. Morse of Missouri bought 64 acres on the mountain and began development of the park.
Now a tunnel elevator takes visitors up 26 stories to the
315-foot-tall rock summit. Once at the 2,280-feet-above-sea-level summit, visitors look out over
75-mile views of rock cliffs, mountains and Lake Lure.
Over the years, the 996-acre park attracted the attention of Hollywood and led to the filming of “The Last of the Mohicans,” which made the 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls famous.
Other movies and commercials have also been filmed on the property.
“I think everybody is real excited about it (the state purchase). It’s a real opportunity for this area,” said Peter O’Leary, owner of Bubba O’Leary’s General Store and Outfitters in Chimney Rock Village.
“Everyone was concerned it would become private or developed. With the state owning it, we’re ensured that’s not going to happen.”O’Leary, former mayor of Chimney Rock, said it wouldn’t have made sense to have a state park surrounding the area and not have the most unique part of it, Chimney Rock.
Making Chimney Rock a state park is the “best case scenario,” he said.
More land sought
Kieran Roe, executive director of the Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy, said the Hickory Nut Gorge area has many rare plant and animal species.
“Because it’s such a unique place, it’s important to save plant and animal species that aren’t found in many other places,” he said.
With 36 rare plant species and 14 rare animal species, the state recognizes the area’s biodiversity.
“This is huge — not only for North Carolina but for surrounding states,” Easley said of the state’s acquisition. “When you have an asset like this, you can’t let it get away.”
About 1,568 acres of the World’s Edge property, slated to become part of the state park, are on the south side of Lake Lure and about 400 acres are on the north side of the lake on Rumbling Bald Mountain.
The state has acquired all of this land in the past 18 months, and hopes to buy 1,400 more acres from The Nature Conservancy to bring the total acreage of the state park to about 4,400.
“One of the principal things we’re about is conservation, and the gorge is rich in natural resources, and we expect to be able to protect a significant sample of those resources,” said Charlie Peek, spokesman for state parks.
The gorge was listed in the state park system’s New Parks for a New Century initiative, which examined areas throughout the state as potential state parks or state natural areas and found the gorge to be a center of biodiversity and natural heritage.
“I couldn’t be more excited. Henderson County is ringed by green now,” said Henderson County Commissioner Chuck McGrady. “We’ve got (Pisgah) National Forest, DuPont State Forest, the World’s Edge property and Chimney Rock Park. What more could we ask for? It’s a really great day.”
Several conservancies and “guardian angels” Fred and Alice Stanback helped move along the purchase of Chimney Rock, Easley said. Private donations totaled $2.35 million.
How it all started
Two and a half years ago Lewis Ledford, director of the state Division of Parks and Recreation, met with the Morses about Chimney Rock becoming a state park.
“In 2004, my son Todd and I realized the world had discovered Western North Carolina,” said Lucius Morse, Todd Morse’s father.
With property values rapidly increasing Todd Morse said the family didn’t want to be in a situation where they were forced to sell.
While he said the family is grateful the property will be taken care of, they will also feel a sense of loss.
Time of transition
The transaction is set to close in May.
Todd Morse and Chimney Rock staff will continue to operate the park at least through the 2007 tourist season. The only interruption in public access will be limited to a brief transition period beginning at the end of November.
During this time, the state parks system will develop an operations plan to integrate Chimney Rock Park into the larger state park.
“The main thing we want to do is make sure (the park) is absolutely accessible to everybody,” Easley said.
Todd Morse said he will immediately begin working with the state to develop a model for the state to manage the park using a public/private management system that is as consistent as possible with the way the park has been run by the Morse family.
“This would include an admission fee structure similar to the fee we currently have in place,” he said.
Don Reuter, assistant director of Division of Forest and Recreation, said the state will consider a fee structure, but no decision has been made yet.
Twenty-eight full-time employees and about 20 seasonal employees of Chimney Rock Company will be considered for employment.
Reuter said the goal is to have some Hickory Nut Gorge State Park facilities open in 2008, but the process for building a state park takes several years.
“One of the advantages of Chimney Rock is there are already some recreational facilities there,” he said. “That’s probably the place most logically available for public use.”
Peek also said the state will have to decide what type of activities to encourage in the park.
“We’re making no preconceptions until we get to the master planning stage,” Peek said. “Anything we put in there will be there for a very long time.”
Reuter said in-house planning staff and contracted help will work on the master plan. The state also wants to make sure there is community involvement, but exactly who will be involved has not been determined.
Economic impact
Many agree that it’s good the state took action and acquired Chimney Rock before it was too late. And with about 250,000 annual Chimney Rock Park visitors, the local economy will also benefit from the preserved land.
Ann Almond, director for Rutherford County Tourism, said Chimney Rock Park is the No. 1 attraction in the county.
“As the destination management organization for the county, Chimney Rock Park is an extreme attribute for us and will continue to be,” she said.
Mike Horak, with the Asheville office of the Nature Conservancy, thinks the new state park will not only affect the economy in Rutherford County but also Buncombe and Henderson counties, and surrounding areas.
Reuter said it’s hard to say whether the new state park will attract more visitors than Chimney Rock Park in its current capacity, but the state is starting out on “solid footing.”
“It’s a very popular attraction and we hope it continues to be once the property is transferred to the state,” he said. “We’re optimistic the other aspects of the park will attract even more people.”
Park land through the years
• 1902: Dr. Lucius B. Morse took a 25-cent donkey ride while visiting Hickory Nut Gorge. This experience changed his life and the lives of his future relatives. The 1,000-acre Chimney Rock Park has been privately owned and operated by the Morse family for more than a century.
• March 2005: Robert Haywood Morrison, former owner of the “World’s Edge” property, died. A large-scale developer made an offer for the property.
• April 2005: The General Assembly approves the creation of Hickory Nut Gorge State Park.
• August 2005: The Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy bought the 1,568-acre World’s Edge property for $16 million. The two groups worked together and secured financing from the Open Space Institute and the Self-Help Credit Union, with loan guarantees from a number of private donors.
• 2006: State buys the 2,264-acre “World’s Edge” property from The Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy and The Nature Conservancy in stages.
• July 2006: Chimney Rock Park Co. President Todd Morse announced the company’s plans to put the park on the open market, with an asking price of $55 million.
• Fall 2006: The park’s owners turned down a state offer of $20 million.
• Jan. 29, 2007: The state announces its purchase of Chimney Rock Park for $24 million at a press conference in the Sky Lounge.
