Skip to main content

Old NC 10 - The Central Highway: Old Fort to Black Mountain through the Royal Gorge

Image
By
A unique way of tracing the remnants of the Central Highway is through the mountainous terrain of Eastern Buncombe and Western McDowell Counties.  From the east on US 70, you reach the base of Blue Ridge Mountains at the town of Old Fort.  Old Fort is a tiny rail town that the old Central Highway and now US 70 goes through.  The Central Highway can be followed via a right onto Mill Creek Road from US 70.  Follow the highway as it takes you closer to the mountains.  When Mill Creek Road bears right to head towards Andrews Geyser stay straight until the road ends at a gate.  The nearby Piney Grove Church can be used for parking.  At this point, the old Central Highway began a 3.5 mile climb of the mountain to Swannanoa Gap.  NC 10 and later US 70 travelers followed this road for over 30 years until a new and modern four lane US 70 was built to the south.  This same four lane road would eventually become Interstate 40. 
 
The Central Highway through this area began as an old stage route that climbed the mountain near the tracks of the Western North Carolina Railroad.  The rail line's ascent up the mountain featured the 1800' Swannanoa Tunnel.  The old Central Highway crosses over the tunnel near the crest of the mountain.  Once at Swannanoa Gap, the Central Highway descended down the mountain towards Ridgecrest and eventually Black Mountain.
 
Although the old Central Highway has been barricaded off for several years, it has become quite popular by local residents and travelers alike who hike and bike along the winding cement pavement. Amazingly the old road is very passable, save for downed trees and overgrowth.  Remarkably, in some cases old pavement markings are still visible.  The three and a half miles of abandoned highway ends near Swannanoa Gap with another barricade as the road returns - although sparingly for auto use. (Note: This western gate is marked as Private Property.  It appears that the former highway is on private land for about a 1/2 mile from the Swannanoa Rail Tunnel to the west gate.)
 
Along the way is Point Lookout which served as a popular site seeing stop as it overlooked the highly scenic Royal Gorge.  Many views of the gorge and Point Lookout were captured on linen postcards commonplace in the 1920s through the 1940s.  At Point Lookout, travelers often stopped at the scenic overlook.  Here, one could fill up on gas, take a stretch, gather scenic views of Royal Gorge, or purchase local craftsmanship and homegrown harvest.  It appears that the Point Lookout store, which was built between the Central Highway and the edge of Royal Gorge, was most popular in the 1930s.
 
I have been fortunate to hike this old highway in October of 2001 and 2007.  It is a very easy hike but do bring water and snacks as the grade and length of the hike can get tiring over time.  Residents near the old highway are very friendly and always willing to say hello and tell you about the old road.  Be sure to bring your camera as the views from Point Lookout and along the old highway are very scenic. 

The text above was written on my old All Things NC! Website about the Central Highway.  I hiked the highway with Dave Filpus in 2007 - about a year later - NCDOT converted the 3.6 miles of old road to the Point Lookout Trail.  A greenway that is suitable for hiking and biking.  A 10' multi-use path was paved along the route.  If you haven't had a chance to explore this old stretch of road, you should!

All photos taken by post author October 2007 (photo of the author taken by Dave Filpus).  All postcards scans are from postcards owned by author.






















 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

By
In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...
4 comments
Read more

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

By
The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process.  The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

By
"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio.  Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents.  Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes.  When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood.  The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71.  The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway.   Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...
Post a Comment
Read more