Today the Linville Gorge is some of the most remote wilderness in the US East of the Mississippi River. When frontiersmen first explored this country, much of the backcountry was even more remote and rugged. The gorge is named after Captain William Linville and his son Josh who were massacred here by Indians in 1766. Their only companion, John Williams, had his leg broken, but miraculously escaped, riding many miles on an unbroken horse to safety.
