Grandfather Mountain was formed by plate tectonics. The Appalachian Mountains, where Grandfather Mountain is located, were formed by the collision of two continental crusts. Erosion over hundreds of millions of years has created the landscape we see today.
The Cherokee named the mountain, "Tanawha," meaning Great Hawk or Eagle. Early pioneers named the mountain "Grandfather" after recognizing "the face" of an old man in one of the cliffs.
In 1952, Hugh MacRae Morton became the sole owner of Grandfather Mountain. He widened the road to the summit and pushed for the building of the Mile High Swinging Bridge. It was in the late 1980s when Morton and Grandfather Mountain began working with the North Carolina chapter of The Nature Conservancy to preserve 1,460 acres of the mountain’s wilderness backcountry.
In 1987, the Linn Cove Viaduct, an engineering marvel, was completed to complete the Blue Ridge Parkway. The viaduct is an elevated roadway that hugs Grandfather Mountain but preserves its beauty and protects the great biodiversity found on the slopes.
After Morton's passing in 2006, his heirs vowed to continue his mission of protecting Grandfather Mountain. In 2008, they announced the sale of the backcountry to the state of North Carolina for a state park.
In 2009, the Morton family began the process of transferring ownership of the Grandfather Mountain attraction to the non-profit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.
Source: Grandfather Mountain
