North Carolina may acquire Chimney Rock Park.

The Lucius Morse family has owned Chimney Rock Park near Asheville, N.C., for more than a century, but that era has come to an end. The park, with its namesake 315-foot high rock formation overlooking 1,000 acres of trails and lakefront wilderness, is being sold by the family because of rising property values, a drop in business and the opening of a new state park in nearby Hickory Nut Gorge.

State park officials say they have been in talks with the Morse family about acquiring the landmark park, which has been the setting for a number of films, including scenes in Last of the Mohicans. The property is listed by Cape Fear Sotheby's International Realty at a price of $55 million--the largest asking price for any private property in North Carolina history. Chimney Rock Park may be absorbed by the planned Hickory Nut Gorge State Park if some state planners have their way.

Although the possibility exists that the park could be purchased by a private party, conservationists can rest easy. Most areas of the park have been zoned as "scenic natural districts," which does not allow for residential development.