Visible 1.3 mi. NW is the south face of Table Rock, described in the 1820s as South Carolina’s “monarch of the mountains.” Part of Cherokee land until 1777, the granite mountain’s broad summit and sheer precipices likely inspired its name. During an 1801 storm, Gov. John Drayton and others exploring the 3,124-ft. summit took shelter at a point on its west side, subsequently named “Governor’s Rock.” Two 150-ft. flights of wooden steps were built to the summit’s northeast edge in the 1830s. A new species later named “Carolina hemlock” was first identified on the mountain in 1837. In the 1840s, the 2-story Table Rock Hotel opened near the mountain’s base. From 1935 to 1941, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) developed Table Rock State Park as one of the first in the South Carolina state park system.