What is Mount Pisgah in Pisgah National Forest named for?
This 5,721-foot-tall mountain is an iconic landmark in North Carolina
Mount Pisgah has attracted Native Americans, explorers, pioneers, and—today—recreational hikers who revere its prominent peak as one of western North Carolina’s most distinct landmarks. The name Pisgah comes from the Bible, in Deuteronomy, when the Lord ordered Moses to the top of Mount Pisgah to reveal the “Promised Land” to the tribes of Israel. Rev. James Hall, a Scotch-Irish Presbyterian minister who was part of Rutherford's 1776 expedition into the Cherokee Nation, is credited with naming the mountain.