Chain Rock
Local Story becomes Roadside Attraction (Postcard #6)
This postcard photo was taken at Chain Rock, immediately south of Pineville, Kentucky. Pine Mountain State Resort Park was Kentucky’s first State Park, created in 1924.
The town of Pineville is nestled into a curve of the Cumberland River, which you can see running across the central landscape. It is near the Kentucky Ridge State Forest in the Appalachian Mountains which includes an old-growth hemlock forest. The prominent ridge runs for about fifty miles across that portion of the state.
This photo is 50s-era, possibly very early 60s. The back of the card says “Middlesboro, Kentucky,” but Middlesboro is a good ten miles south of the location, while Pineville is right there at the foot of the mountain. A bridge still spans the Cumberland as can be seen in the map snip.
Chain Rock is the tip of a huge slab of stone where only the end is exposed. Even so, the bald, jutting edge of the sandstone is visible from Pineville, looming over the valley, looking as though it might release its grasp on Pine Mountain and plummet down the slope, crashing into the town.
One old local story says that children in Pineville (and some adults) were afraid this could happen at any time. Children were having trouble sleeping for worrying about the big rock. Parents told the children not be afraid because the rock was chained to the mountainside and couldn’t break free.
As stories do, this one spread beyond the borders of Pineville and out-of-towners started showing up asking how to get to the big chained rock. The residents turned the chain tale into an endeavor to bring tourist trade to town (which worked, by the way). Fifty citizens, including members of two local service organizations and the Boy Scouts, formed what became known as the Chained Rock Club.
On June 24, 1933, a pack of mules led by club members started dragging a massive chain from a quarry steam shovel up to the top.
The 2,000 pound weight was too much for the mules, so the chain had to be cut in half. After a rest, the 4-mule team was able to bring the chain to the peak in two trips. The chain did have to be welded back together. It took all fifty members of the club to drag the chain out onto the rock.
Holes in the rock were drilled by hand, and using 1-1/2 x 24-inch steel pegs, the chain was stretched 101 feet across a stomach-churning drop and anchored. It remains in place today.
Pine Mountain is still popular for hiking and viewing the mountains. Located on the trails are Honeymoon Falls, Powderhorn Arch, and the naturally formed ‘Rock Hotel.’
A wonder of the world! 🤗
This is so wild! I love your stories. Now I want to go see it!