Rock City is a

tourist attraction A tourist attraction is a place of interest that tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural b ...

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge located at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-centu ...

Lookout Mountain, Georgia Lookout Mountain is a city entirely within Walker County, Georgia, Walker County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Bordering its sister town of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Lookout Mountain is part of the Chattanooga, TN-GA Metropolit ...

. Opened in , the attraction gained prominence after owners

Garnet Garnets () are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, but differ in chemical composition. The different sp ...

and Frieda Carter hired Clark Byers in 1935 to paint "See Rock City"

barn advertisement A barn advertisement is an outdoor advertisement painted onto the exterior of a roadside barn. Advertisers take advantage of the barns' prominence in rural landscapes, paying their owners for the right to paint and maintain logos and slogans on ...

s throughout the

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

and

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

; Byers painted over 900 barn roofs and walls, in 19 states, by 1969. Since its earliest days, Rock City has claimed that it is possible to see seven states from a particular spot (Lover's Leap) in Rock City; a scientist at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

, when asked to prove the issue in 2007, pointed out that the claim refers to seeing mountains and other high points in many of these other states, adding that the claim was made long before the air pollution associated with the proliferation of automobiles and coal-fired power plants, and summed up with "I never thought it significant."

History

Historical evidence indicates that Native Americans inhabited Lookout Mountain at some point. In 1823, two missionaries, Daniel S. Butrick and William Chamberlain, went to minister to them. Butrick made a journal entry on August 28, 1823 in which he described "a

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

of rocks" on top of the mountain, and noted the immense size of the boulders. He stated that they were arranged in a way "as to afford streets and lanes". By the time the American Civil War reached the slopes of Lookout Mountain, more people had discovered what was already being called Rock City. During the

Battle of Lookout Mountain The Battle of Lookout Mountain also known as the Battle Above The Clouds was fought November 24, 1863, as part of the Chattanooga Campaign of the American Civil War. Union forces under Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker assaulted Lookout Mountain, Chatta ...

, both a

Union soldier During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

and a

Confederate soldier The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighti ...

claimed that seven states could be seen from the summit of the mountain. These stories are independent and recorded in their own journals.

Hikers Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histo ...

and

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alth ...

s knew Rock City well throughout the late 19th century, but it did not become the attraction it is now until the 20th century.

Garnet Carter John Garnet Carter (Feb. 9, 1883, in Sweetwater, Tennessee – July 21, 1954) was an American inventor and entrepreneur who is considered one of the fathers of miniature golf. In 1927, Carter was the first to patent a version of the game which he c ...

's idea was to develop a residential neighborhood on top of the mountain. The neighborhood was to be named Fairyland because of his wife Frieda's interest in

European folklore European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively. The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many ...

. One feature of Fairyland was going to be a golf course, but Garnet decided instead to build a

miniature golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

course because the original took too long to build. He later franchised his miniature golf concept as Tom Thumb Golf, now recognized as the nation's first mini-golf course. Fairyland was and encompassed Rock City. Frieda set out to develop the property into one big

rock garden A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...

, taking string and marking a trail that wound its way around the giant rock formations, ending up at Lover's Leap. She also planted wildflowers and other plants along her trails and imported German gnome statues and other famous fairytale characters, set up at spots throughout the trail. Garnet realized that Frieda had made an attraction that people would be willing to pay for to see. Garnet made Rock City a public attraction in 1932. The original clubhouse and 10 cottages are included in the Lookout Mountain Fairyland Club.

Events and shows

In 2006, Rock City began having daily bird shows for its visitors. The bird shows focus on

birds of prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators h ...

. The shows are included with paid admission to the gardens. Now