Highest Grave East of the Mississippi, North Carolina

Mount Mitchell, generally believed to be the highest peak east of the Mississippi, is named after Dr. Elisha Mitchell, who determined that this peak, soon to bear his name, not Grandfather Mountain, was in fact the taller peak. His calculation of 6,672 feet, made in 1835, it turns out, was only 12 feet short. He later died on the mountain, falling to his death at a place now known as Mitchell Falls, and is buried on its summit, next to the recently reconstructed observation platform, the highest grave east of the Mississippi.