1875 was not such a long time ago; yet the world was smaller
and there were still undiscovered lands east of the Rockies for
adventurers eager to make a name for themselves. Two of these
men, Samuel Kelsey and Clinton Hutchinson sat at their kitchen
table one night, defiantly took out a straight-edge and drew a
line from New York to New Orleans and another from Chicago to
Savannah.
"There!" one said to the other, "There! The intersection
of that point will some day be a great center of commerce! We
shall build a town on that site!" So they settled here in
the North Carolina Mountains and waited for civilization to catch
up. Surely their fortune would follow. It should be obvious here
Kelsey and Hutchinson never took a geography class. If they had
they would have known there are other, more important factors
than the intersection of two points that facilitate commerce.
Like navigable waterways (the Cullasaja does not qualify), or
railways (the Rockefellers did not sleep here), or passable roads
(even today, motoring in Highlands is an adventure!), or a temperate
climate. Yet they set out, determined, to build their town.
The erroneous assumptions that made the settlement a disaster
as a transitory colony eventually made it a success as a destination
retreat! People didnt just pass through Highlands, they
stayed. Since its incorporation in 1876 Highlands has been far
removed from the bustle of city life and civilization. Travelers
return to rest, relax with friends, recharge their batteries,
and go home only to return the next year. The same geographic
restrictions that prevented Highlands from being the trading Mecca
Kelsey and Hutchinson envisioned has combined with the farsightedness
of the Town Council and the possession of lands surrounding the
town by the U.S. Forrest Service to practically guarantee the
quality of life will not diminish.
For those who need the excitement of a bustling center of commerce
that Kelsey and Hutchinson envisioned need only to take Highway
64 about 100 miles West from Highlands to Chattanooga, Tennessee,
home of the Tennessee River, intersection of several major highways
and one Interstate highway, and the most famous train in America,
the Chattanooga Choo- Choo.