Rendezvous Mountain State Park is a North Carolina state park in Purlear,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. It was originally established as North Carolina's third state park. From 1984 to early 2022, the park was operated by the

North Carolina Forest Service The North Carolina Forest Service, formerly known as the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources is a North Carolina state government agency responsible for providing land management assistance to landowners. The agency's primary responsibili ...

as Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest.

History

Rendezvous Mountain is popularly rumored to have been an assembly point for the

Overmountain Men The Overmountain Men were American frontiersmen from west of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are the leading edge of the Appalachian Mountains, who took part in the American Revolutionary War. While they were present at multiple engagements in th ...

during the Revolutionary War. Colonel

Benjamin Cleveland Benjamin Cleveland (May 28, 1738 – October 1806) was an American pioneer and officer in the North Carolina militia. He is best remembered for his service as a colonel in the Wilkes County Regiment of the North Carolina militia during the War ...

is said to have called

militiamen A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

from around Wilkes County, by blowing a large ox horn from the mountain's summit. Cleveland was able to summon over 200

Patriot A patriot is a person with the quality of patriotism. Patriot may also refer to: Political and military groups United States * Patriot (American Revolution), those who supported the cause of independence in the American Revolution * Patriot m ...

s from the surrounding area to join him on a march to the

Battle of Kings Mountain The Battle of Kings Mountain was a military engagement between Patriot and Loyalist militias in South Carolina during the Southern Campaign of the American Revolutionary War, resulting in a decisive victory for the Patriots. The battle took plac ...

. The route they took is now commemorated by the nearby

Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail The Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail (OVHT) is part of the U.S. National Trails System, and N.C. State Trail System. It recognizes the Revolutionary War Overmountain Men, Patriots from what is now East Tennessee who crossed the Un ...

. In 1926, the park's original tract was donated to the state by Judge T. B. Finley of

North Wilkesboro North Wilkesboro is a town in Wilkes County, North Carolina, United States, approximately 80 miles north of Charlotte. The population was 4,131 at the 2020 US Census. North Wilkesboro is the birthplace and original home of Lowe's Home Improvemen ...

for inclusion in the State Park System; however, the unit was never opened to the public due to its small size, inaccessible location, and questionable historic significance. The

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

constructed roads and trails around the mountain in the 1930s. They also built a cabin near the mountain's summit, which still remains. The land was transferred to the Division of Forestry in 1956. It was later opened to the public in 1984 as an educational state forest. In the early 2000s, the forest was greatly expanded when large tracts along its western boundary became available. The state forest grew to a peak size of . The Appropriations Act of 2021 instructed the NC Forest Service to transfer a mutually agreed upon portion of Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest to the NC Division of Parks and Recreation by February 1, 2022. Since the forest was already split into two disconnected areas, it was agreed that the original tract and all adjoining tracts, which contained the forest's visitor facilities, would be managed as a state park. Meanwhile, the undeveloped, Little Fork tract would be retained by the Forest Service, and it would be leased to the

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is a state government agency created by the North Carolina General Assembly, General Assembly in 1947 to Wildlife management, conserve and sustain North Carolina's fish and wildlife resources through ...

as a public game land.

Nearby state parks

The following state parks and state forests are within of Rendezvous Mountain State Park: :

Elk Knob State Park Elk Knob State Park is a North Carolina state park in Watauga County, North Carolina, in the United States. Opened in 2003, it is one of North Carolina's newest state parks. Elk Knob State Park was established to preserve the natural state of El ...

Grandfather Mountain State Park Grandfather Mountain is a mountain, a non-profit attraction, and a North Carolina state park near Linville, North Carolina. At 5,946 feet (1,812 m), it is the highest peak on the eastern escarpment of the Blue Ridge Mountains, one of the major c ...

Grayson Highlands State Park Grayson Highlands State Park is a state park located in Grayson County, Virginia, United States. It is adjacent to the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area and lies within the Jefferson National Forest. The park was established in 1965 and co ...

, Virginia :

Mount Jefferson State Natural Area Mount Jefferson State Natural Area is a North Carolina state park in Ashe County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Jefferson, North Carolina, it includes the peak of Mount Jefferson, named for Thomas Jefferson and his father P ...

New River State Park New River State Park is a North Carolina state park in Ashe County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Jefferson, North Carolina, it covers in the protected New River watershed. The New River is one of the oldest rivers in the U ...

Tuttle Educational State Forest Tuttle Educational State Forest (TESF) is a North Carolina State Forest near Lenoir, North Carolina. Nearby state parks The following state parks and state forests are within of Tuttle Educational State Forest: :Grandfather Mountain State Park ...

: Stone Mountain State Park

References

External links

*
Rendezvous Mountain Educational State Forest
- Former state forest website {{Piedmont Triad North Carolina state forests Protected areas of the Appalachians Protected areas of Wilkes County, North Carolina Education in Wilkes County, North Carolina Open-air museums in North Carolina Former state parks of North Carolina 1926 establishments in North Carolina Protected areas established in 1926 State parks of North Carolina State parks of the Appalachians