Abstract:
After Daniel Boone, North Carolina's most famous mountain man was Big Tom Wilson, who was a noted guide, tracker, bear hunter, and master story teller who lived in Yancey County. However, it was leading a search party to find Elisha Mitchell's body in 1857 that brought him nationwide fame. Mitchell's claim that Black Mountain was the highest in the Appalachians had been challenged and he fell to his death remeasuring the mountain. Black Mountain was later named Mt. Mitchell in his honor when his claim was proven.