Near Sparta in Alleghany County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Stone Mountain

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 4, 2019

1. Stone Mountain Marker

Inscription.
The massive gray rock before you is Stone Mountain, formed about 350 million years ago from intense heat and pressure deep within the earth. Centuries of erosion uncovered the rock and sculptured it into the curious shape it is today.

At one time, the hard, granite surface of Stone Mountain attracted the attention of miners. The rock proved to be too difficult to mine and Stone Mountain was eventually donated to the state of North Carolina. Today it is protected as a state park.

Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Parks & Recreational Areas. In addition, it is included in the Blue Ridge Parkway series list.

Location. 36° 26.007′ N, 81° 3.91′ W. Marker is near Sparta, North Carolina, in Alleghany County. It is on Blue Ridge Parkway (at milepost 232.5), 3 miles west of U.S. 21, on the left when traveling south. Marker is located at the Blue Ridge Parkway's Stone Mountain Overlook. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Sparta NC 28675, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in North Carolina’s and he Mountains in the High Country. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Tillers of the Land - Then and Now (approx. 3.2 miles away); Making Shoes

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(approx. 4.6 miles away); Mountain Spring (approx. 4.6 miles away); A Mountain Home (approx. 4.6 miles away); Brinegar Cabin (approx. 4.6 miles away); An Outdoor Pantry (approx. 4.6 miles away); Making Linsey-Woolsey (approx. 4.6 miles away); The Brinegar Family (approx. 4.6 miles away).

Also see . . . Stone Mountain State Park History. NC Division of Parks and Recreation website entry:
Long before becoming a state park, Stone Mountain was settled by families of English, German, Irish, French and Scotch-Irish descent who built the log homes, farms, mills, churches and schools needed for self-sufficient communities. (Submitted on October 4, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: Stone Mountain has attracted the curiosity of visitors for generations image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Stone Mountain has attracted the curiosity of visitors for generations

Marker detail: Giant “train tracks” of erosion scar the granite face of Stone Mountain image. Click for full size.

3. Marker detail: Giant “train tracks” of erosion scar the granite face of Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain Marker • <i>wide view<br>(Stone Mountain visible in distant background)</i> image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 4, 2019

4. Stone Mountain Marker • wide view
(Stone Mountain visible in distant background)

Stone Mountain (<i>view from near marker</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 4, 2019

5. Stone Mountain (view from near marker)

Credits. This page was last revised on September 11, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 4, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 615 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 4, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.