Since May 21, 1932, tourists have been making the trip to the top of
Lookout Mountain to stroll through what pioneers as far back as the
1820s called the rock city. This collection of huge boulders in a wild
array of shapes and sizes was developed as an attraction by Garnet
Carter, the inventor of modern miniature golf, and his wife, Frieda, a
devotee of European fairy tales. Rock City Gardens quickly became one of
the most famous tourist attractions in the Southeast, especially after
Carter started a program of painting advertisements on barn roofs.
During the post-World War II baby-boom era, Rock City became even more
of a destination with the additions of Fairyland Caverns and Mother
Goose Village.