Late 1800s
Another historical figure who crossed the rugged trail through Deals Gap was John Denton in 1870. Denton and a friend named Gus Langford made a retreat from Tennessee after having a run-in with some local boys. Seems they got too friendly with several girls at a dance and were ganged-up by the locals. After throwing a few rocks at the locals coming out the door, Denton and Langford went home, packed up their things, and headed their wagons east for North Carolina where they knew they could "get lost". They crossed the Little Tennessee River at Calderwood and trekked through the mountains, crossing into North Carolina at Deals Gap. Denton made his way into present day Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest where he made a lean-to for temporary protection from the elements and settled in. He was a true mountain man standing six-foot -three and literally strong as an ox. His story of survival is an interesting one.
As more settlers moved into the area landowners began collecting tolls for use of the road. Toll Booth Corner, located about midway over the Dragon, was a place to pay for the right to cross private property owned by George Davis. There were also corrals to keep the livestock in transit over night and meager sleeping quarters for guests. Local legends tell of some who tried to cross without paying the toll and were caught and hanged on the spot.
There is also a gravesite nearby just off the Cherohala Skyway with a plaque reading "HERE LIES AN UNKNOWN MAN KILLED BY THE KIRKLAND BUSHWACKERS". There is a marker on the top of Huckleberry Knob where two surveyors died in a winter storm, December 1899. One was buried there, the other body was removed. In 1982 nine United States Air Force crew members were killed when their C141 transport plane crashed on John's Knob during a low-level training mission. The crash was so intense that no remains were found over the half mile of wreckage. There are likely many more buried in the nearby mountains that have escaped attention.