page_title: Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands)
section_title: Mining and Logging
hierarchical_section_title: Roan Mountain (Roan Highlands) / History / Mining and Logging
caption_attribution_description: The site of the Cloudland Hotel (ca. 1885-1912) at Tollhouse Gap in the Roan Highlands, on the Tennessee-North Carolina border. The sign recalls the hotel's brief history.
context_page_description: Roan Mountain is the highpoint of the Unaka Range of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. The mountain is clad in a dense stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, and includes the world's largest natural rhododendron garden, and the longest stretch of grassy bald in the Appalachian range. The Cherokee National Forest and Pisgah National Forest converge atop the mountain, with Roan Mountain State Park located near its northern base. The Appalachian Trail traverses most of the Roan's crest. The Roan High Knob Shelter is the highest back-country shelter on the entire 2,174-mile trail.
  Roan Mountain comprises the greater part of the Roan Highlands, a 20-mile massif stretching from Big Rock Creek on the west to U.S. Route 19 on the east. Most of this massif lies along the Tennessee-North Carolina border, between Carter County and Mitchell County. Yellow Mountain and Little Hump Mountain, on the northern tip of the massif, are part of the Roan Highlands but are generally not considered part of Roan Mountain proper.
  Roan Mountain encompasses five summits, which are divided into two sections by Carver's Gap.
context_section_description: In 1826, Josh, Ben, and Jake Perkins — three brothers from Crab Orchard, Tennessee — were searching for ginseng on the North Carolina side of Roan (possibly evading an arrest warrant in Tennessee) when they noted deposits of iron ore near Cranberry Creek. This led to the discovery of a massive iron ore deposit known as the Cranberry vein and the establishment of the Cranberry Mine, which extracted the ore for nearly a century until being forced to close by the Great Depression.
  In the late 19th century, the logging industry was booming, due in large part to the arrival of the band saw and the logging railroad. As forests in the lower lands were cut down, loggers began moving into the more mountainous areas in search of timber. At Roan Mountain, a steam engine was set up in the gap between Round Bald and Jane Bald (this gap is still called "Engine Gap" to move lumber from the Tennessee side to the mills located on the North Carolina side. A large log flume was built between Burbank (near Hughes Gap) and the village of Roan Mountain. Erosion brought about by excessive logging was believed to be part of the cause of a massive flood that destroyed much of the area in 1901.
caption: USFS sign marking the former site of the Cloudland Hotel (c. 1885-1910) at Tollhouse Gap.
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