Mount Sterling (Great Smoky Mountains)
Encyclopedia
Mount Sterling is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains
of Haywood County, North Carolina
, located in the southeastern United States. It reaches an elevation of 5842 feet (1,780.6 m) above sea level. The summit
is topped by an abandoned fire tower that gives stunning views of other nearby peaks.
Mount Sterling crowns Mount Sterling Ridge, a 7 miles (11.3 km) ridge that gradually descends northward from the flanks of Big Cataloochee Mountain (on the Balsam Mountain crest) to the Pigeon River Valley
. The ridge divides the Cataloochee
area to the east from the Big Creek Valley (which represents the fringe of the Cosby
area) to the west. The community of Waterville, North Carolina is located in the Pigeon Valley at the ridge's northern extreme. Geologically, Mount Sterling consists mainly of Precambrian
metamorphic sandstone of the Ocoee Supergroup, formed nearly a billion years ago from ancient ocean sediments. The summit of Mount Sterling is surrounded by a stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest
.
in the bed of the Pigeon River at the mountain's northern base. These early residents mistakenly thought the lead was silver. The Big Creek campground, at the northern base of Mount Sterling Ridge, occupies what was once the community of Mount Sterling, North Carolina.
During the U.S. Civil War, Cataloochee and the remote valleys at the base of Mount Sterling became popular hideouts for deserters, and both Union
and Confederate
detachments consistently made raids into the area to find them. Raiders and bushwhacker
s navigated through the area by following a trail that connected Cosby and Cataloochee via Mount Sterling. One local legend relates an incident in which Confederate Captain Albert Teague swept through Cataloochee and arrested three alleged Union sympathizers. Teague marched them up to Mount Sterling where he ordered one of the detainees— a well-known local fiddle player named Henry Grooms— to play a tune on his fiddle. Grooms chose the somber "Bonaparte's Retreat." When he finished, Teague executed all three detainees.
Around 1903, the Cataloochee Lumber Company established the village of Crestmont at the northwest base of Mount Sterling to house a labor force needed to log the Big Creek Valley and operate a timber mill. Crestmont thrived until 1907, when the company commenced logging operations in the area. In the late 1920s, the Carolina Power and Light Company established the community of Waterville at the mountain's northern base, near the confluence of Big Creek and the Pigeon River. Waterville provided the labor force needed to operate the company's Walters Plant, which housed the powerhouse for the Waterville Lake reservoir further upstream. While vestiges of Waterville survived, Crestmont was absorbed into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
in the 1930s, and converted into what is now the Big Creek Campground.
The balsam wooly adelgid infestation— which killed off most of the park's fraser firs— was first noticed in the Smokies atop Mount Sterling in 1963.
The 5.3 miles (8.5 km) Mount Sterling Ridge Trail traverses the ridge's crest between Laurel Gap on Balsam Mountain and the summit of Mount Sterling. The 6.1 miles (9.8 km) Baxter Creek Trail connects the summit to the Big Creek Campground to the north. These two trails both provide segments of the cross-country Benton MacKaye Trail
. The Pretty Hollow Gap Trail connects Mount Sterling with Cataloochee to the east, and the Swallow Fork Trail connects the mountain with Walnut Bottom in the Big Creek Valley to the west.
Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
of Haywood County, North Carolina
Haywood County, North Carolina
-National protected areas:* Blue Ridge Parkway * Great Smoky Mountains National Park * Pisgah National Forest -Major Highways & Roads:* Interstate 40* U.S. Highway 19* U.S. Highway 23* U.S. Highway 74* U.S...
, located in the southeastern United States. It reaches an elevation of 5842 feet (1,780.6 m) above sea level. The summit
Summit (topography)
In topography, a summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a local maximum in elevation...
is topped by an abandoned fire tower that gives stunning views of other nearby peaks.
Mount Sterling crowns Mount Sterling Ridge, a 7 miles (11.3 km) ridge that gradually descends northward from the flanks of Big Cataloochee Mountain (on the Balsam Mountain crest) to the Pigeon River Valley
Pigeon River (Tennessee - North Carolina)
The Pigeon River of western North Carolina and east Tennessee rises above Canton, North Carolina. Below this, it flows roughly parallel to Interstate 40 for many miles and is impounded by a dam -- Walters Dam -- belonging to Progress Energy before entering Tennessee, where it flows into the French...
. The ridge divides the Cataloochee
Cataloochee (Great Smoky Mountains)
Cataloochee is a valley in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, located in the Southeastern United States. Now a recreational and historic area within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cataloochee was once home to a substantial Appalachian community and Cherokee hunting...
area to the east from the Big Creek Valley (which represents the fringe of the Cosby
Cosby, Tennessee
Cosby is an unincorporated community in Cocke County, Tennessee, United States. Although it is not a census-designated place, the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the ZIP Code that serves Cosby had a population of 5,201 as of the 2000 U.S. Census...
area) to the west. The community of Waterville, North Carolina is located in the Pigeon Valley at the ridge's northern extreme. Geologically, Mount Sterling consists mainly of Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
metamorphic sandstone of the Ocoee Supergroup, formed nearly a billion years ago from ancient ocean sediments. The summit of Mount Sterling is surrounded by a stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest
Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest
The Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest is a type of montane coniferous forest that grows in the highest elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States...
.
History
According to early residents in the Mount Sterling area, the mountain was named after a 2 foot (0.6096 m) wide streak of leadLead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
in the bed of the Pigeon River at the mountain's northern base. These early residents mistakenly thought the lead was silver. The Big Creek campground, at the northern base of Mount Sterling Ridge, occupies what was once the community of Mount Sterling, North Carolina.
During the U.S. Civil War, Cataloochee and the remote valleys at the base of Mount Sterling became popular hideouts for deserters, and both Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
and Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
detachments consistently made raids into the area to find them. Raiders and bushwhacker
Bushwhacker
Bushwhacking was a form of guerrilla warfare common during the American Revolutionary War, American Civil War and other conflicts in which there are large areas of contested land and few Governmental Resources to control these tracts...
s navigated through the area by following a trail that connected Cosby and Cataloochee via Mount Sterling. One local legend relates an incident in which Confederate Captain Albert Teague swept through Cataloochee and arrested three alleged Union sympathizers. Teague marched them up to Mount Sterling where he ordered one of the detainees— a well-known local fiddle player named Henry Grooms— to play a tune on his fiddle. Grooms chose the somber "Bonaparte's Retreat." When he finished, Teague executed all three detainees.
Around 1903, the Cataloochee Lumber Company established the village of Crestmont at the northwest base of Mount Sterling to house a labor force needed to log the Big Creek Valley and operate a timber mill. Crestmont thrived until 1907, when the company commenced logging operations in the area. In the late 1920s, the Carolina Power and Light Company established the community of Waterville at the mountain's northern base, near the confluence of Big Creek and the Pigeon River. Waterville provided the labor force needed to operate the company's Walters Plant, which housed the powerhouse for the Waterville Lake reservoir further upstream. While vestiges of Waterville survived, Crestmont was absorbed into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North...
in the 1930s, and converted into what is now the Big Creek Campground.
The balsam wooly adelgid infestation— which killed off most of the park's fraser firs— was first noticed in the Smokies atop Mount Sterling in 1963.
Access
A long gravel road connects the Big Creek ranger station (near Waterville) with the Cataloochee Campground. The trailhead for the 2.7 miles (4.3 km) Mount Sterling Trail is located near this road's halfway point at Mount Sterling Gap. The trail ascends to the summit.The 5.3 miles (8.5 km) Mount Sterling Ridge Trail traverses the ridge's crest between Laurel Gap on Balsam Mountain and the summit of Mount Sterling. The 6.1 miles (9.8 km) Baxter Creek Trail connects the summit to the Big Creek Campground to the north. These two trails both provide segments of the cross-country Benton MacKaye Trail
Benton MacKaye Trail
The Benton MacKaye Trail or BMT is a footpath nearly in length in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States and is blazed by a white diamond, 5" across by 7" tall...
. The Pretty Hollow Gap Trail connects Mount Sterling with Cataloochee to the east, and the Swallow Fork Trail connects the mountain with Walnut Bottom in the Big Creek Valley to the west.
External links
- Mount Sterling — Peakbagger.com
- fire tower