“The grand sublimity of the scenery which is hereabouts presented to the eye, cannot be surpassed by any in the world. Language fails to describe it, and the pencil of the artist can give but a faint conception of its beauty and magnificent grandeur. Here it is that man feels his insignificance and trembling kneels with awe and fear. We have seen Niagara in all its artistic splendor, and we have seen what was called grand scenery, but never, never, have we seen anything to equal the scenery of Linville Falls, nor do we ever expect to see the like again until we revisit them.” —Henry E. Colton, Mountain Scenery: The Scenery of the Mountains of Western North Carolina and Northwestern South Carolina, 1859