Chimney Rock and the neighboring Lake Lure area underwent many different periods of development and planning. Dr. Lucius Morse purchased the property at the dawn of the 20th century, and had a unique vision for the property. 1 Starting in the 20’s, the Morse family continual tried to improve their property and open up the land for investors. The archival documents reveal that the Family had renovation plans in the 20’s, 40’s, 60’s and even up to the 90’s. Clearly this was intended to be something very different than the more modest state park it turned out to be. The documents below are just some of the many plans and investment opportunities that where pursued throughout the Morse family’s stewardship of Chimney rock and the surrounding areas.

A pamphlet from the Carolina Motor club. Is says "The Carolina are Calling you." It also has six nature scenes on the cover.

This Carolina Motor Club pamphlet from 1934 addresses the growing interest in capitalizing on the natural resources of North Carolina. A large portion of this booklet is paid to the developments happening in California and there is a clear desire to replicate that success in this state. Chimney Rock is one of the many sites depicted on the cover, which illustrates that this park was considered among the most lucrative in all of North Carolina. 2

This is a another pamphlet. It;s blues with silver letters reading, "The Lake Lure Development In Western North Carolina offers an unusual opportunity to the shrewd investor.

Nine years before Chimney Rock would be featured in that pamphlet, the Organization itself created this proposal inviting investors to the area. By 1926 the family had owned the park for 24 years, and it was time for a return on their investment. This booklet is over flowing with flowery prose describing the climate, flora, mountain vistas, and even the purity of the drinking water. The newly built lake is a major feature of this advertisement. 3

An artist rendition of a planned hotel near the Lake. It shoes a long brick or stone walkway and stairs.

This concept art from that proposal shows a scene almost out of Lake Como, or the Spanish coast. In the interview with Todd Morse he claimed that Lucius hoped to create European style resort right in the middle of the North Carolina Mountains. 4 Chimney Rock itself, while beautiful, is on top of a mountain making it less viable for commercial development. It becomes clear in this booklet, that Lake Lure was to be the focus. 5

A list of cities and theirs distance from the park.

The proposal even goes as far as listing the travel times between major US cities and Lake Lure. Being within a days travel time between almost all of these cities made this prime real estate. 6

A newspaper article.

A local newspaper, called the Rutherford Sun, covered the development of Lake Lure by Lucius B. Morse. It’s clear that the local community was welcoming to this new development. The potential for this piece of land was clear and this reflects the eagerness the people had to develop this region. 7

A hand drawn blueprint for a hotel.

Eventually Lucius’s Brother, Hiram, would take over and have his own vision for the park. He was a proven business man and that was reflected in his goals for the park. 8  This hand-drawn blueprint shows a plan that Hiram was working on for a huge fire proof hotel. His more business minded self had perhaps less lofty and more practical ideas for the park. The hotel was sadly never constructed, but this is just another example of the wealth of vision and imagination that went into this property. 11

A fairly detailed blueprint of the building of a new hiking path.

Towards the end of their Stewardship of this land Todd Morse took over and this was one of the plans he was involved in. It was essentially a face lift as the park was receiving some of the highest attendance rates it ever had and the infrastructure needed to keep up. This influx of guests was largely due to the popularity of the film “The Last of the Mohicans,” which featured a climactic battle scene on the property.
12 Sadly during this time the Morse family began to suffer financially. Keeping up with renovations and maintenance became more difficult, and the family didn’t want to raise the ticket prices to astronomical levels to keep up. This was the last big development that the family worked on before the sale in 2006.
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  1. Todd Morse, Interview by Christian Roughton, March 27, 2019.
  2. ”The Carolinas are calling you,” 1934. Morse Family Chimney Rock Park Collection , Box 2, Folder 14, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.
  3. ”The Lake Lure Development in Western North Carolina offers an unusual opportunity to the shrewd investor.” 1926. Morse Family Chimney Rock Park Collection , Box 2, Folder 15, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.
  4. Todd Morse, Interview by Christian Roughton. March 27 2019.
  5. ”The Lake Lure Development in Western North Carolina offers an unusual opportunity to the shrewd investor.” 1926. Morse Family Chimney Rock Park Collection , Box 2, Folder 15, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.
  6. ”The Lake Lure Development in Western North Carolina offers an unusual opportunity to the shrewd investor.” 1926. Morse Family Chimney Rock Park Collection , Box 2, Folder 15, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.
  7. ”Dr. Lucius B. Morse President of Chimney Rock Mountains Inc, creates beautiful lake lure.” The Rutherford Son May 15, 1926. Morse Family Chimney Rock Park Collection , Box 2, Folder 13, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.
  8. Todd Morse, Interview by Christian Roughton, March 27, 2019.
  11. “Hotel Blueprint” 1947. Morse Family Chimney Rock Park Collection , Box 2, Folder 5, D.H. Ramsey Library, Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Asheville 28804.9