Stone Mountain State Park  »  History

Located on more than 14,100 acres in Wilkes and Alleghany counties, Stone Mountain State Park offers cascading waterfalls and cool mountain streams, quiet forests abundant with wildlife, scenic hiking trails and a historic mountain homestead.

One of the park's most spectacular features is Stone Mountain, a 600-foot granite dome. This magnificent feature is part of a 25-square-mile pluton, an igneous rock formed beneath the earth's surface by molten lava. Over time, wind, water and other forces gradually eroded the softer layers of rock atop the granite block and exposed the outcrop we see today. Wet weather springs continually carve troughs in the granite as water runs down the mountain's sloping face.

Established in 1969 and designated a National Natural Landmark in 1975, Stone Mountain is bounded by the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Thurmond Chatham Game Lands.

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.

Facilities in and near the park provide a look into the history of the area:

• Mountain Culture Exhibit: Located at the park office, this exhibit tells the story of how the independent mountain settlers provided shelter, food and clothing for their families.


• Hutchinson Homestead: Complete with a log cabin, barn, blacksmith shop, corncrib, meat house and original furnishings, visit this farm that was built in the mid-19th century. Restored in 1998, the homestead is representative of the lives of early settlers in the area.


• Garden Creek Church: Garden Creek Baptist Church is located on the bank of the East Prong of the Roaring River. Established in 1897, the building is one of the few original churches in Wilkes County that has not undergone any major repairs or remodeling.