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A Question of Mountains

In 1828 Dr. Elisha Mitchell began making geological investigations in western North Carolina. Using Wilkesboro as a base, he moved through Ashe and Watauga Counties, and climbed Grandfather Mountain. On later excursions, Mitchell reached Asheville, and using barometric measuring instruments, determined that what is now called Mount Mitchell was 6672 feet high. He first published his findings in 1835, refuting the widely-held belief that New Hampshire's Mount Washington was the highest peak east of the Mississippi.

In 1855 Thomas Lanier Clingman, a U.S. Congressman (later Senator) representing Asheville, and an accomplished amateur scientist, measured Mount Mitchell and published his findings. He claimed, however, to have made the first measurement of the peak, and insisted that Mitchell had never reached the highest mountain. Mitchell furiously repudiated Clingman's assertions, and a protracted personal quarrel between the two men resulted.

In June, 1857 Mitchell returned to Asheville to verify his claims. Mitchell also wanted to verify his earlier barometric measurements with a more complex method known as "leveling". On June 27 Mitchell left camp alone to meet with one of his guides but he failed to return. A week later his body was found submerged in a pool. He apparently slipped over a waterfall in the dark. Subsequent investigations verified Mitchell's claim that, indeed, he had measured the peak known as Mount Mitchell in 1835. Elisha Mitchell is buried at the summit of the mountain.