Swannanoa camp is named for the Swannanoa Gap. About 15 miles from Camp Lurecrest lies the Swannanoa Gap, which served as the one of the primary passes through which early settlers and Indians traveled to reach the Asheville Plateau – the dividing line between the waters that flow to the Atlantic and those that flow to the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico. Because of its strategic location and landscape, it played a significant role in both the Revolutionary and Civil wars.