The Blowing Rock is North Carolina’s oldest attraction, and visitors who stop to take in the views at 432 The Rock Road in Blowing Rock, North Carolina, are familiar with the legend associated with the premises. In 1933, it was established as “North Carolina’s First Travel Attraction,” dating back almost 250 million years ago when the Blue Ridge Mountains were formed.
The surrounding mountains have plenty of myths and legends connected to them. Legend of the Blowing Rock is a story of the Chickasaw chieftain’s lovely daughter. He journeyed far from “the plains to bring her to The Blowing Rock and the care of a squaw mother. One day, the maiden, daydreaming on the craggy cliff, spied a Cherokee brave wandering in the wilderness far below and playfully shot an arrow in his direction. The flirtation worked because soon he appeared before her wigwam, courted her with songs of his land, and they became lovers, wandering the pathless woodlands and along the crystal streams. One day, a strange reddening of the sky brought the brave and the maiden to The Blowing Rock. To him, it was a sign of trouble commanding his return to his tribe in the plains. With the maiden’s entreaties not to leave her, the brave, torn by conflict of duty and heart, leaped from The Rock into the wilderness far below. The grief-stricken maiden prayed daily to the Great Spirit until one evening, with a reddening sky, a gust of wind blew her lover back onto The Rock and into her arms. From that day, a perpetual wind has blown up onto The Rock from the valley below. For people of other days, at least, this was explanation enough for The Blowing Rock’s mysterious winds, causing even the snow to fall upside down.”
Written By John G. Clark Jr.
