History of Tryon, North Carolina
Tryon, snug in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, used to be Indian country.
Before the American Revolution, there were scattered settlers here. The old Block House, now the scene of Tryon's annual nationally known Steeplechase, used to be a peaceful trading post with the Cherokee Indians.
In the mountain vastness beyond the borders of the Carolinas, when settlers began to encroach on the Indians' hunting ground, clashes followed and North Carolina's Colonial Governor William Tryon extended the state boundaries to the foothills to give protection to the Indians.
Legend is that Big Warrior of the Cherokee chiefs then named the mountain on one side of the line for himself and the mountain on the other side of the line for Gov. Tryon. At any rate, Warrior and Tryon mountains are landmarks to all Tryonites.
With the American Revolution, real troubles began between the Indian and the white settlers. British Redcoats and Tory sympathizers used the Cherokees to raid and massacre the pioneer homesteaders.
After three massacres, Capt. Thomas Howard gathered his men at the Block House and organized a campaign against the Cherokees. Skyuka, a Cherokee, led Howard's men over a secret trail to Round Mountain. Here Howard defeated the Cherokees.
There was a stone monument marking the scene of the battle and the secret trail in modern times has become Howard Gap Road. The name of Skyuka is perpetuated by Skyuka Creek, scenic Skyuka Road and the Y.M.C.A. Camp Skyuka on Mt. Tryon.
The City of Tryon was granted a charter from the State Legislature in 1885 and then incorporated into Polk County. In 1920, a second charter was given, one reason being the changing of the name from City of Tryon to Town of Tryon, since the municipal population was (and is) less than 10,000.
The Town, named for Tryon Mountain, is geographically small. Its boundary is established by a circle with a radius of three quarters of a mile, giving it an area of 1.7 square miles. The elevation is 1067 feet.
Tryon, almost on the South Carolina border, developed on this particular spot because construction of the railroad to Asheville stopped here for two years. In fact, the Southern Railway station is close to being the geographic as well as the actual center of Tryon.
In 1889, Tryon was the same little town it had been nine years before, when famed poet Sidney Lanier came here for the last two months of his life. The Lanier Library was opened to the public in 1890. This institution, the oldest civic organization in continuous operation in Tryon, and the last private library in North Carolina, gives remarkable insight into Tryon's history.
On its 75th anniversary, the library published "Lanier Library Diamond jubilee,’ must reading for anyone interested in Tryon's early days.