(Murphey Papers, Vol. II, p. 386)

"Two men named Linville from the forks of the Yadkin went to hunt on the Watauga River between 1760 and 1770. They employed John Williams, a lad of sixteen, to go with them, keep camp and cook for them. They were sleeping in the camp when the Indians came on them and killed the Linvilles. They "shot Williams through the thigh," but he escaped and rode a horse from the mouth of the Watauga "Hollows in Surry" in five days. He recovered from his wound and became a man of influence.

It is now almost certain that these falls have taken their name from these two men, who may have visited them before their last hunt and told the people of their location and beauty, for Dr. Draper (note, p. 183) records that the stream itself was named from the fact that in the "latter part of the summer of 1766 William Linville, his son and a young man had gone from the lower Yadkin to this river to hunt, where they were surprised by a party of Indians, the two Linvilles killed, the other person, though badly wounded, effecting his escape.

The Linvilles were related to the famous Daniel Boone.

" It is a matter of record that a family by the name of Linvil---probably an economic way of spelling Linville---were members of Three Forks Baptist Church and lived on what is now known as Dog Skin Creek, or branch, but which stream used to be called Linville Creek. The membership of that church shows that Abraham, Catharine and Margaret Linvil were members between 1790 and 1800, while the minutes show that on the second Saturday in June, 1799, when the Three Forks Church were holding a meeting at Cove Creek, just prior to giving that community a church of its own, Abraham Linvil was received by experience, and in July following, at the same place, Catharine and Margaret Linvil also were so received. Several of the older residents of Dog Skin, Brushy Fork and Cove Creek confirms the reality of the residence of the Linville family in that community.

In September, 1799, Brother Vanderpool's petition for a constitution at Cove Creek was granted, Catherine Linvil having been granted her letter of dismission the previous August.

Boone Family Website

Bryan/Boone/Linville Ancestry

Here, where the hand of violence shed the blood of the innocent; where the horrid yells of the savages, and the groans of the distressed, sounded in our ears, we now hear the praises and adorations of our Creator; where wretched wigwams stood, the miserable abodes of savages, we behold the foundations of cities laid, that, in all probability, will equal the glory of the greatest upon earth.      --- Daniel Boone, 1781.

In 1766, four young men from the Yadkin, Benjamin Cutbird, John Stewart (Boone's brother-in-law who afterwards accompanied him to Kentucky), John Baker, and James Ward made a remarkable journey to the westward, crossing the Appalachian mountain chain over some unknown route, and finally reaching the Mississippi. The significance of the journey, in its bearing upon westward expansion, inheres in the fact that while for more than half a century the English traders from South Carolina had been winning their way to the Mississippi along the lower routes and Indian trails, this was the first party from either of the Carolinas, as far as is known, that ever reached the Mississippi by crossing the great mountain barrier. When Cutbird, a superb woodsman and veritable Leather stocking, narrated to Boone the story of his adventures, it only confirmed Boone in his determination to find the passage through the mountain chain leading to the Mesopotamia of Kentucky.

Such an enterprise was attended by terrible dangers. During 1766 and 1767 the steady encroachments of the white settlers upon the ancestral domain which the Indians reserved for their imperial hunting-preserve aroused bitter feelings of resentment among the red men. Bloody reprisal was often the sequel to such encroachment. The vast region of Tennessee and the trans-Alleghany was a twilight zone, through which the savages roamed at will. From time to time war parties of northern Indians, the inveterate foes of the Cherokees, scouted through this no-man's land and even penetrated into the western region of North Carolina, committing murders and depredations upon the Cherokees and the whites indiscriminately. During the summer of 1766, while Boone's friend and close connection, Captain William Linville, his son John, and another young man, named John Williams, were in camp some ten miles below Linville Falls, they were unexpectedly fired upon by a hostile band of Northern Indians, and before they had time to fire a shot, a second volley killed both the Linvilles and severely wounded Williams, who after extraordinary sufferings finally reached the settlements." In May, 1767, four traders and a half-breed child of one of them were killed in the Cherokee country.  In the summer of this year Governor William Tryon of North Carolina laid out the boundary line of the Cherokees, and upon his return issued a proclamation forbidding any purchase of land from the Indians and any issuance of grants for land within one mile of the boundary line. Despite this wise precaution, seven North Carolina hunters who during the following September had lawlessly ventured into the mountain region some sixty miles beyond the boundary were fired upon, and several of them killed, by the resentful Cherokees Undismayed by these signs of impending danger, undeterred even by the tragic fate of the Linvilles, Daniel Boone, with the determination of the indomitable pioneer, never dreamed of relinquishing his long-cherished design. Discouraged by the steady disappearance of game under the ruthless attack of innumerable hunters, Boone continued to direct his thoughts toward the project of exploring the fair region of Kentucky. The adventurous William Hill, to whom Boone communicated his purpose, readily consented to go with him; and in the autumn of 1768 Boone and Hill, accompanied, it is believed, by Squire Boone, Daniel's brother, set forth upon their almost inconceivably hazardous expedition. They crossed the Blue Ridge and the Alleghanies, the Holston and Clinch rivers near their sources, and finally reached the head waters of the West Fork of the Big Sand. Surmising from its course that this stream must flow into the Ohio, they pushed on a hundred miles to the westward and finally, by following a buffalo path, reached a salt-spring in what is now Floyd County, in the extreme eastern section of Kentucky. Here Boone beheld great droves of buffalo that visited the salt-spring to drink the water or lick the brackish soil. After spending the winter in hunting and trapping, the Boones and Hill, discouraged by the forbidding aspect of the hill-country which with its dense growth of laurel was exceedingly difficult to penetrate, abandoned all hope of finding Kentucky by this route and wended their arduous way back to the Yadkin.

Linville Gorge Wilderness

Where did the gorge get its name? The area is named after explorer William Linville, who the Indians scalped along with his son in the gorge in 1766

Linville Gorge Wilderness Area

Year Established: 1964

Size: 10,975 acres

Description:

William Linville and his son (John Linville), early explorers of this area, were scalped by Indians in 1766 and remembered by having their name applied to one of the most scenic river gorges in the eastern United States.  From its headwaters high on Grandfather Mountain the Linville River has patiently and powerfully
carved this rugged steep-walled gorge which encloses the river for approximately 12 miles. Within the gorge the river drops a dramatic 2,000 feet before leveling out in the Catawba Valley. On the east of the gorge stands Jonas Ridge and on the west Linville Mountain. Elevation at the gorge's rim is 3,400 feet, and the elevation of the river here averages 2,000 feet. Plant communities range from lichens and shrubs on the cliffs to an understory of laurel and rhododendron along the river. In some spots the gorge shelters stands of virgin timber.  Along Jonas Ridge an assortment of odd rock formations have been given names such as Sitting Bear, Hawksbill, Table Rock and the Chimneys, and these rocks attract beginner, intermediate and advanced rock climbers. With 39 miles of challenging trails, backpackers come to Linville Gorge in substantial numbers. They find an exemplary southern backpacking area. If you want more solitude during your visit, go to the southern half of the Wilderness, south of Conley Cove Trail (1.35 miles long) in the western portion and south of the Chimneys in the eastern portion. The rough northern section surrounding Brushy Ridge also receives fewer human visitors. A large black bear population attracts many hunters between late October and early January.

Location: Western North Carolina.

Easiest Access: From Marion, NC, just north of Interstate 40, take US 70 east for approximately five miles to Nebo; turn north on State Highway 126 across Lake James and continue eight miles; turn west on State Highway 1238 (Kistler Memorial Highway), a gravel road rough in places and not recommended for two-wheel drive vehicles. You will soon come to several west side trailheads with parking lots. 

Linville Falls Recreation Area at Sherpa Guides

Linville Falls Photos at High Country Outdoors

Grandfather Mountain * Linville, North Carolina 28646

Linville Caverns
Daily, April-November, weekends December-February.  Admission charged.
US Highway 221 between Marion and Linville Falls, NC
800-419-0540, 828-756-4171

North Carolina's only underground caverns. Carved by streams running under Linville Mountain, the cavern has a storied history as a hideout for robbers and runaways. Stalactites and stalagmites. Blind fish inhabit the underground stream.

Linville Falls
Open year round, seasonal campground.

Ranger station phone 828-765-7818.

Off Blue Ridge Parkway at Linville Falls Community.

No admission charged.

90-foot waterfall plunges into the Linville Gorge Wilderness Area. 1/2 mile walk to the top of the falls.

 These trails were used for the filming of
scenes from THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS.

Linville Falls at North Carolina Roads