Rock Castle Gorge is best seen from Rocky Knob's summit, where the valley lies 1800 feet below. An old road parallels the creek through the gorge; first a trail and later a wagon road, it has reverted to use as a hiking trail. Six-sided crystals of colorless quartz found there reminded settlers of castle towers, giving the place its name. The first settlers arrived before the American Revolution to farm the steep hills, where the rocky soil produced oats, corn, buckwheat, sorghum, and apples, and chestnuts served as both a cash crop and food for foraging hogs. Frame houses replaced log cabins when sawmills began operating in the late 1880s. The gorge community once had 30 families, but by 1935, when the federal government began buying the land, only 12 families remained. Although occasional homestead remnants can still be seen, Rock Castle Gorge is slowly returning to its primeval state.