Other Things To Visit While In McDowell County:
Lake Tahoma Casino Snowy Morning
Andrews Geyser "Old Fort"
Round Knob Hotel and "the fountain"
In the late 1800s when the railroad from Old Fort to Ridgecrest was
completed, passengers were treated to a very impressive sight as their
train climbed the 13 miles of switchbacks and seven tunnels to the top
of the mountain. Several times during their ascent they were treated
with a view of “the fountain” at Round Knob Hotel, with gravity-powered
water shooting nearly 100 feet into the air. The fountain would later
become known as
Andrews Geyser
and, after a period of neglect in the mid-20th century, has become one
of the most recognizable and visted landmarks in McDowell County. It has
come to symbolize the achievement of bringing the railroad across the
rugged mountains of McDowell County.
Freezing weather sometimes transforms the geyser into an ice cone.
Steve Little, now Mayor of Marion, has always harbored a keen
interest in the railroad and played a central role in bringing the
geyser back from disrepair and neglect in the mid 1970s.
