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Presents

Picture

Great Smoky Mountains
​National Park History


Great Smoky Mountains
People, Homes & Moonshine Stills


Wonderland Hotel

Located in the Elkmont community in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the hotel served as a retreat for members of the Wonderland Club for 80 years before the National Park Service forced its closure, and ultimately having it razed in 2005.
The hotel was built on land formerly owned by the Little River Railroad Company, and was located just north of Elkmont. As the area became “logged out”, Little River Railroad Company President Colonel W.B. Townsend began to recognize the benefits of tourism to the area. To capitalize on this budding industry, Townsend sold a 50-acre tract of cut-over land to Charles B. Carter in 1911, with the stipulation that he had to build on the land within a year. Carter immediately formed the Wonderland Club Company, and on June 11, 1912 opened the doors to the Wonderland Hotel. The hotel would remain open to the public for seven years before closing it to club members and their guests only.
The Wonderland Hotel was constructed as a two-story wood frame structure with boards cut from local chestnut trees. It featured a wrap around porch, and contained 26 rooms, none of which were the same. The hotel became a hub of outdoor activities during the daytime, which included fishing, horseback riding, swimming and hiking, while bands from Knoxville entertained guests on weekend nights.
Due to the popularity of the hotel, the club decided to construct an annex in 1920 to provide their members with more privacy. This building contained another 24 guest rooms, a common area, and a screened porch.
In 1923 the Wonderland Club and the Appalachian Club combined to form the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association. Led by Colonel David Chapman, this highly influential organization led the campaign for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 
On November 15, 1992 the Wonderland Hotel closed its doors for good. Three years later it was partially burned under suspicious circumstances. Some people suspect the fire was set by National Park Service employees as a means to remove the building. In 2005 the remnants of the hotel began to collapse, thus forcing the National Park Service to award a contract to begin the careful demolition of the standing portions of the building. Historically significant artifacts such as doors, windows and bathtubs were set aside for permanent preservation. In a somewhat ironic twist of fate, the annex hotel also burned down 11 years later.
Hikers can still see many of the vacation homes and cottages that remain and have been included as part of the preservation of the Elkmont historic district. Trails such as the Little River Trail and the Jakes Creek Trail feature several homes from this bygone era in the Smokies.
Compiled from NPS website, TN Archives & personal research.
 

C. C. C.



Cilvilian Conservation Corps. works in the park:
1908: Little River Lumber Company had line run over Little River (Elkmont Railroad Bridge).
1934: Built NP tunnel.
1937: Built bridge on Newfound Gap Road over Trout Creek & Bear Pen Hollow & Spur Tunnel & Cole Creek bridge on Newfound Gap Road & Walkercamp Prong Bridges over and under Alum cave over West Prong of Little River & over Little Pigeon River @ Chimmneys Campground & over West Prong of Little River on Cades Cove Road.
1938: Bridges built over Right Gap Creek @ NP HQ & in Gatlinburg over Roaring Fork Creek (Parkway) & Elkmont Little River bridge on Elkmont Road.
1947: Elkmont Road bridge over Laurel Branch & Laurel Branch bridge over Fighting Gap Creek.
1948: Cades Coves bridges built including Schoolhouse Gap Trailhead Bridge over Laurel Creek on Cades Cove Road & on Tremont Road over Middle Prong @ Laurel Creek.

The CCC built much of the infrastructure of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
In May 1933, just over a month after the program is approved by Congress, 5 camps of 200 men each are established in the Smokies. 
In the Great Smoky Mountains, 23 CCC camps were established for the purpose of building logging and forest maintenance roads, firebreaks, hiking trails, observation towers and fire control towers, bridges and traffic roads, and service buildings. They constructed retaining walls, installed fresh water distribution systems, campgrounds, picnic areas, and mapped trail routes. The Rockefeller Memorial in the park was built by the CCC. The CCC also landscaped many areas, planted trees and shrubs to control soil erosion, dammed or re-routed streams, and were responsible for renovating many of the historic buildings which can be found in the park.​

Following from CCC Legacy:
CCC GSM Camp Numbers and Locations

All 1933 (except Harrison = 1938) “N-13 Newport/Cosby, P-2 Gatlinburg, GP-20 Gat., P-3 Townsend, NP-4 Newport/Cosby, TVA-P-2/TVA Harrison, NP-11 Cades Cove, NP-3 Townsend/Tremont, NR-12 Elkmont”

The CCC camp NP-5 was located in the area now occupying Kephart Prong Trail, a little over 7 miles north of Oconaluftee Visitor Center along Newfound Gap Road. During the camp's peak from 1933 to 1942 there were several structures here housing over 200 members of Company 411 of the Civilian Conservation Corps. These men played an important part in constructing Newfound Gap Road and many of the footbridges along the trail. They even built the water system that still serves the Newfound Gap area today. At the start of World War II this camp was closed down and abandoned, but some remnants still stand to this day.

Following from Book “Memories of District C: Civilian Conservation Corps” by W. Carolina Univ.:
CCCC GSM Company Numbers and Locations

“Company 415 Mt. Sterling, Co. 1212 Elkmont, Co. 1213 & 1462 Cosby, Co. 1214 Cades Cove, Co. 1458 (Sugarlands) & 1459 Gatlinburg, Co. 1461 Townsend, Co. 411 Kephart Prong, NC P-7 = Company 415, NP-12 = Company 1212, NP-13 = Company 1213, NP-11 = Company 1214, NP-6 = Company 1462”
​

CCC youths built fire observation towers and manned them during the months of high fire danger. The towers, located high in the mountains in carefully chosen locations, made it possible to spot fires quickly and send in a fire suppression crew before they became large enough to cause serious destruction. Such towers were used until the mid-1960's when most of them were replaced by light patrol planes.
Fire towers had telephone and, later, radio connections to district ranger offices to report fires. The construction of telephone lines was another important CCC task. The telephone lines not only made reporting fires quicker, they also made possible the rapid assembly of firefighting crews where needed. Forest Service telephones were also available for use by local people in emergencies. This was much appreciated in areas where few people had private telephones. In some areas lines for private telephones were installed on the telephone poles put up by the CCC for Forest Service lines.
One of the biggest jobs undertaken by the CCC in the Southern Appalachian forests was road and trail construction. The enrollees built high-quality roads in some areas to open up the forest for timber harvesting or recreation, but many of the roads they built were of the type known as truck trails or "fire roads." These single-lane dirt roads could serve as firebreaks, but more important, they made it possible to bring truckloads of men and equipment quickly to the site of a forest fire. With the modern advent of new fire-control techniques, many of the old "fire roads" have been abandoned and others have not been maintained for lack of funds, but for 40 years the truck trails built by the CCC were a vital element in forest fire protection.


Historical structures maintained by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

 Cades Cove

Name Build Date Location Notes

John Oliver Cabin 1822 Cades Cove Loop Rd. Oldest standing structure in the park.
Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church 1887Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Cades Cove Methodist Church 1902 Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Cades Cove Missionary Baptist Church 1915 Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Myers Barn 1920 Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Elijah Oliver Cabin 1866 Cades Cove Loop Rd. Short trail"dog-trot" style cabin with detached kitchen.
Elijah Oliver stable 1866 Cades Cove Loop Rd./short trail
Elijah Oliver corn crib 1866 Cades Cove Loop Rd./short trail
Elijah Oliver chicken coop 1866 Cades Cove Loop Rd./short trail
Becky Cable House 1879 Cades Cove Loop Rd. Built and originally used by Leeson Gregg as a store.
John Cable Gristmill 1868 Cades Cove Loop Rd. The mill's overshot wheel is popular with photographers.
Cades Cove Museum Barn Cades Cove Loop Rd. Moved from original location.
Cades Cove Museum chicken coop Cades Cove Loop Rd. Moved from original location.
Cades Cove Museum Smokehouse Cades Cove Loop Rd. Moved from original location.
Cades Cove Museum corn crib Cades Cove Loop Rd. Moved from original location.
Cades Cove Museum Molasses still Cades Cove Loop Rd. Moved from original location.
Henry Whitehead Cabin1896 Forge Creek Rd.
Dan Lawson Cabin 1855 Cades Cove Loop Rd. Built by Lawson's father-in-law, Peter Cable.
Dan Lawson Smokehouse Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Dan Lawson Chicken Coop Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Dan Lawson Barn Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Tipton Cabin 1870s Cades Cove Loop Rd. Sometimes called the Tipton-Oliver Place.
Tipton Barn 1968 Cades Cove Loop Rd. Often photographed double-cantilever barn; based on original design.
Tipton Corncrib Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Tipton Oliver Blacksmith Shop Cades Cove Loop Rd.
Tipton Smokehouse Cades Cove Loop Rd. Low building on cabin's front lawn.
Carter Shields Cabin 1880s Cades Cove Loop Rd.


Elkmont
Mayna Avent Cabin 1850 Jakes Creek Trail Side trail built by Ownby family, used as a studio by Mayna Avent in the 1920s.
Appalachian Clubhouse 1934 Elkmont Road Replaced earlier clubhouse at the site, which burned in 1932.
Sneed Cabin 1910 Elkmont Road Log walls chinked with grout; kitchen added 1948.
Smith Cabin 1910 Elkmont Road Porch added in the 1970s.
Higdon Cabin 1910 Elkmont Road Porch added in 1980.
Swan Cabin 1910–1930 Elkmont Road Remodeled numerous times.
Addicks Cabin 1910 Elkmont Road Initially a "set house" used by Little River Lumber Company employees; rear wing added 1930s.
Adamless Eden 1921 Elkmont Road Children's playhouse on Addicks Cabin property; unhewn-log siding.
Creekmore Cabin 1910–1930 Elkmont Road Several additions in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mayo Cabin 1910 Elkmont Road Initially a "set house" used by Little River Lumber Company employees; rear wing added in the 1930s.
Levi Trentham Cabin 1830 Elkmont Road Originally located on upper Jakes Creek; moved to Mayo Cabin lot after Trentham's death in 1932.
Mayo Cabin – servants' quarters 1920 Elkmont Road Board and batten siding.
Cain Cabin 1915 Elkmont Road Remodeled numerous times.
Galyon Cabin 1910–1919 Elkmont Road Kitchen added 1919; associated shed built in 1970.
Baumann Cabin 1910 Elkmont Road Clerestory added in the 1920s & rear wing added in 1936.
Scruggs-Brisco Cabin 1910–1930 Elkmont Road Porch added in 1970.
Cook Cabin 1912 Elkmont Road Several additions 1930–1950; porch added in 1970.
Hale Cabin 1910–1930 Elkmont Road Porch added in 1970.
Byers Cabin 1910–1930 Elkmont Road ("Society Hill") Given to Col. David Chapman by Tennessee Park Commission for his work in establishing the national park.
Spence Cabin 1910–1930 Little River Trail also known as "River Lodge" Middle section built with unhewn logs, board-and-batten on east and west sections, weatherboarding on east section.


Cataloochee
Hannah Cabin 1860s Little Cataloochee Trail Brick chimney.
Cook Cabin 1850s Little Cataloochee Trail Dismantled in the 1970s after vandalism, restored in 1999.
Palmer House 1869 Now used as a museum.
Palmer Smokehouse Located behind the Palmer House.
Palmer Springhouse Located behind the Palmer House.
Palmer Barn Located near the Palmer House.
Palmer Chapel 1898
Beech Grove School 1907
Caldwell House 1898–1903
Caldwell Barn 1923
Steve Woody House 1880 Rough Fork Trail Paneling added in the early 20th century.
Steve Woody Springhouse Rough Fork Trail
Little Cataloochee Baptist Church 1889 Little Cataloochee Trail Sometimes called the Ola Baptist Church.
Will Messer Barn 1905 Moved from original location in Little Cataloochee.


Hazel Creek
Granville Calhoun House 1920s Hazel Creek Trail Built by George Higdon, purchased by Calhoun in 1928.
Hall Cabin 1892 Bone Valley Trail The park's most remote historic structure.


Greenbrier
John Messer Barn 1875 Porters Creek Trail Built by Pinkney Whaley; double-cantilever barn.
Smoky Mountain Hiking Club Cabin 1934 Porters Creek Trail Built by SMHC using logs from a nearby Whaley cabin.
Baxter Cabin 1889 Maddron Bald Trail Sometimes called the "Jenkins Cabin" after a later owner.


Tyson McCarter Place
Tyson McCarter Barn circa 1876 Old Settlers Trail
Tyson McCarter Springhouse circa 1876 Old Settlers Trail
Tyson McCarter Smokehouse circa 1876 Old Settlers Trail
Tyson McCarter Corncrib circa 1876 Old Settlers Trail Adjoined to the Tyson McCarter barn.

​
The Sugarlands
John Ownby Cabin 1850s Sugarlands Visitor Center nature trail


Noah Ogle Place
Noah "Bud" Ogle Cabin Late 1880s Cherokee Orchard Rd. Two cabins sharing one chimney.
Noah "Bud" Ogle Barn Late 1880s Cherokee Orchard Rd. Located behind Noah Ogle Cabin.
Noah "Bud" Ogle Tub Mill 1885 Noah Ogle Place nature trail Still operational.


Roaring Fork
Alex Cole Cabin early 19th century Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Part of Jim Bales Place; moved from original location near Cole Cemetery.
Jim Bales Barn late 19th century Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Part of Jim Bales Place.
Jim Bales Corncrib late 19th century Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Part of Jim Bales Place.
Ephraim Bales Cabin late 19th century Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Dog-trot double cabin.
Ephraim Bales Corncrib late 19th century Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Located behind Ephraim Bales Cabin.
Ephraim Bales Barn late 19th century Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Located behind Ephraim Bales Cabin.
Ephraim Bales Hogpen Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Located behind Ephraim Bales Cabin.
Alfred Reagan Cabin late 19th century Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Paneling and paint added in the early 20th century.
Alfred Reagan Tubmill Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail Located across the street from Reagan's cabin.


Little Greenbrier
Walker Cabin 1859 Little Greenbrier Trail Sometimes called King-Walker Cabin.
Walker Corncrib Little Greenbrier Trail Located adjacent to Walker Cabin.
Walker Springhouse Little Greenbrier Trail Located near Walker Cabin.
Little Greenbrier School early 1880s Little Greenbrier Trail Constructed of hewn Poplar logs.


Oconaluftee
Mingus Mill 1886 Just off US-441 Large three-story gristmill, still operational.
Smokemont Baptist Church early 20th century Smokemont Campground Rd.
John Davis Cabin 1900 Just off US-441 Originally located on Indian Creek; part of Mountain Farm Museum.
Enloe Barn 1880 Just off US-441 Part of Mountain Farm Museum.
Messer Applehouse Just off US-441 Originally located in Cataloochee; part of Mountain Farm Museum.
Baxter Chickenhouse late 19th century Just off US-441 Originally located at the Baxter Cabin near Greenbrier.
Mountain Farm Museum Meathouse Just off US-441 Originally located in Cataloochee.
Mountain Farm Museum Blacksmith Shop 1900 Just off US-441 Originally located in Cades Cove.
Mountain Farm Museum Springhouse Just off US-441 Originally located in Cataloochee.
Mountain Farm Museum Corncrib/Shed 1900 Just off US-441 Originally located near Bryson City.
Mountain Farm Museum Corncrib 1900 Just off US-441 Originally located near Bryson City.
Mountain Farm Museum Hogpen Just off US-441 Originally located on Indian Creek.
Source Credit: W
ikipedia website.

Kinsel Springs

Sunshine TN, later Kinsel Springs
 
Sunshine or Kinsel Springs was established by S.J. Kinsel. He built a home here as a retreat and it expanded into a resort area with cottages, general store, and recreational pavilion. In 1914 a hotel was built. Vacationers from Knoxville would come by train every Sunday to the stop. The adults would relax on the large verandas while the children would play in the Little River. Sunshine activities were swimming, horseback riding, golf, tennis, etc. According to www.blountweb.com Mr. Kinsel donated land to a women's organization called the International Sunshine Society. It was incorporated into a community in 1925 and included a post office. According to locals it was "pretty hoppin" place until the 1950's when the hotel burned down. One interesting point to make is that the locals say that it was not known as Kinsel Springs but as Sunshine. The name of Kinsel Springs appeared after the hotel burned down. This might be true since the pictures from the period show the station as Sunshine, TN not Kinsel Springs, TN. When the railroad was pulled out suddenly by the Little River Lumber Company the Walland Highway was used extensively to access the area. Never the less, the town is gone now except for the renovated swinging bridge, which lead to the hotel, and the Old Walland Road across Little River from the hotel site. Many Knoxville old timers remember the weekly trip to Sunshine when they were kids and swimming in the Little River.

​Mining

Mining history in Great Smoky Mountains.

In 1943, when the park acquired the land that was once the Hazel Creek community, the National Park Service promised Swain County residents a road would be built so locals could visit their ancestors still buried in small cemeteries deep inside the park boundaries. This is the famed North Shore Road, which was never built because of the devastating environmental impacts the construction would have caused. The Ritter Lumber Company (one of the many companies to occupy Hazel Creek) would scour the country looking for suitable timber, establishing portable villages when they found an ideal location. After the timber was used up, Ritter would deconstruct the town and move on to the next locale. When Ritter Lumber Company abandoned the Hazel Creek area, the leftover scraps of the town were burned by the park service. Only a few brick fireplaces, foundations, and the occasional cabin remain today. From the Hazel Creek Trail, you can access a few of the old copper mines that used to occupy the area. It’s been estimated that there is 19 million dollars worth of copper still in these mountains. Some of the shafts inside the mountains are as big as football fields. Most of the mines that sit close to marked trails are gated off, but if you’re willing to slip off trail into the rhododendron thickets and thorns, you could easily find yourself at the mouth of a mine that carves deep into the belly of one of these Great Smoky Mountains.  Adams-Westfield mining company: It was the center of a 26-year lawsuit over ownership rights, the longest court case in American history. When the suit was finally settled, the original plaintiffs were long dead. The lawsuit typifies Hazel Creek, which has a history of hard-fought disputes. Timber companies and mining companies fought over the right to plunder its resources. When the national park was created, farmers fought for the right to stay in the area. Before that, the Cherokee fought for their right to inhabit the region, just as the original Native American tribes fought for their land rights against the Cherokee. When Fontana Lake was created, there were more court cases, more legal battles, more landowner displacement. For hundreds of years, people have been fighting over Hazel Creek. The irony? After the establishment of the national park and the lake, almost nobody sets foot in the area anymore.
In the 1890s, life in the Smokies changed drastically with the discovery of a copper vein near Sugar Fork Creek, a tributary of Hazel Creek. The mine soon closed over a land ownership dispute which took 26 years to resolve—the longest court case in U.S. history. Following the copper era, timber companies descended upon the Smokies—at that point the largest virgin forest remaining in the East. Much of the ancient forest was logged. Native trout and otter disappeared from the waterways. Indian trails became roads, and then railways. The Southern Railway made its way to the mouth of Hazel Creek, and a large lumber company followed. The Ritter Lumber Co. was in the area from 1903 to 1928. It developed a company town of about 1000 people, cut 200 million board of feet, and then left. Industry returned to the Smokies by way of Fontana Dam. Once the dam was built, the National Park Service required residents to move from the area to establish the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Most left and sold their land to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), who then transferred it over to the park. However, some refused to sell, losing their land and gaining no monetary value. TVA burned most of what was left by Ritter Lumber Company and other landowners.
Copper deposits in the Smoky Mountains were first discovered and used by Native Americans. They collected copper ore from exposed bedrock or shallow surface pits to create tools and adornment objects without the use of smelting or metallurgy.  The first historic copper mine in the Southern Appalachia was Ore Knob, which started in the 1850s and operated sporadically until 1962 in Ashe County, North Carolina.  The copper mining was successful enough to spur the boomtown of Ore Knob in 1875 and led to other copper mining operations in the region.
The copper deposits for the mines in the current study were first discovered by Jacob Fonslow “Fonzie” Hall, who was actually prospecting for mica. He broke open a large flint rock and found what he thought must be gold. He was disappointed to be later told that it was actually copper, for at the time, copper was selling for only 8.5 cents per pound. Additionally, the land he found it on was already owned by a man named Everett. Crestfallen, Fonzie returned to his home. However, word of the copper discovery spread. Eventually W.S. Adams of New York, a mineral developer, heard of the copper deposit. Around 1889 Adams purchased the mine from Everett, hired a crew and began constructing a mining village and a road down to the river to haul supplies and ore. Adam’s mine closed in 1901 after a little more than two years of operation due to a lawsuit brought against him by someone who also felt they had claim to the land. In 1927, after twenty-six years of litigation, the suit was decided in favor of Adams. The mine was finally re-opened in 1942 and four new adits were dug, about 300-400 feet long with 13 side tunnels (Oliver 1989). Only in operation for a total of four years, the mine produced at least 415,772 pounds of copper (Burghardt 2002). Seven mine openings have been documented at this site, and several building foundations and walls are visible as well as historic artifact scatters. According to Allison Harvey, archaeologist for the GSMNP, it has not been officially recorded as an archaeological site nor been mapped in detail.
The second and larger of the two mines was opened about three miles away in 1927. The exact date and story of this mine’s discovery are unknown, but it was first exploited on a small scale by the Montvale Lumber Company in about 1925, before leasing the mine in 1926 to an affiliate of the large Ducktown Chemical and Iron Company. That company purchased the mine outright in 1928 and operated it until 1931 when it was sold to a second company. While in operation, it produced over 83 million pounds of copper worth more than $10 million (NPS 2016). This mine is purportedly the second deepest abandoned mine in the National Park System, with massive underground tunnels dipping steeply to a depth in excess of 2,400 ft., inclusive of 23 sublevels (Espenshade 1963). Survey assessments within the last twenty years documented five mine openings, including a very large main adit which still contains support timbers. Site features and structures such as building foundations, the main hoist base, a boiler tank, and the winch are visible.  In addition to the mine head, the site includes the administrative and residential complex with an incline railway connecting the two components. Surface remains at the administrative/residential complex include a collapsed chimney, brick scatters, and a cistern.

EAGLE CREEK/FONTANA MINE
​

The next document concerning the mine appears in May of 1944. The Tennessee Valley Authority had constructed Fontana Dam and the majority of the mine area was soon to be below water. TVA agrees to pay the North Carolina Exploration Company $250,000 for 389 acres that will be flooded. There is a mention of the fact that mining may continue so long as refuse from the process is not introduced into the pool of water which will soon be known as Fontana Lake (Swain Co. Register of Deeds. Book 59, p-319). Obviously, after the lake was impounded, access via the railroad was ended and mining activity ceased. On January 31, 1944, the last ore was taken from the earth. The mining rights remained in effect. Cities Service Company bought the property (2,324 acres) from the North Carolina Exploration Company in May, 1970 (Swain Co. Register of Deeds. Book 93, p-203). Was there enough ore left in the mine to make it a viable enterprise? Even after access was cut off by the creation of Fontana Lake, road access was a possibility. Plans were even drawn up to truck the ore to a bluff about one and one-half miles away then float it by barge across the lake, thence to Tennessee. The fact that copper remained underground is not disputed. Dr. Emmons reported in August of 1942 that there were 67,600 tons of shipping grade ore (more than 6% copper). This ore he estimated to be worth $874,838 (at 1943 prices ). Unfortunately, the estimated price of extraction, shipping, and refining would only leave a profit of $49,800. The value of the mine would be in the by-products and the value of future discoveries. In this report he also stated "The past production I estimate to be $10,000,000 (ten million dollars) and present reserves are considerable. I have no idea as to past profit, but considering the grade of the ore, it probably was substantial." This report, done for the TVA, also leads him to make the following conclusion about the future worth of the mine "...yet when the value of total production is compared with prospecting expenditures, one should conclude that further exploration is warranted." None of the documents uncovered by the writer contained answers to many questions. 1. Why did the mining operation cease? 2. The North Carolina Exploration Company held title to the land even after the lake was impounded. Why did they not continue mining operations? 3. Why did some documents show considerable profit; while others showed a loss for most of the mines' operating days? 4. Why were several plans drawn up by the TVA to continue production and transportation of copper ore, then suddenly abandoned? Hopefully, a continued study of the documents will shed some light on these questions. A memo by B.F. Hyde, a Cities Service executive, dated September 29,1975 (Holland,2001) speaks to the value of ore left. Hyde based his valuation on a report by James W. Alexander, Superintendent of Fontana Mine, dated January 31, 1944. Hyde places the value of the minerals in place at approximately $11.0 million (based on 1976 forecasted prices),on the total mineable ore of 11.972 million pounds. Regardless of these facts, the mine was never reopened. In 1983, the National Park Service finally purchased the last privately owned land within the park boundary. From Cities Service Realty Company, the government purchased 2,324 acres for $1,074,300. On June 9, 1983 at 9:56 a.m.; Cities Service Company, the North Carolina Exploration Company, and Fontana Mining Company, ghosts of a bygone era, disappeared into the mists of an almost forgotten era of Swain County history.
Compiled from TVA, Swain Co. TN History and more sources.


Great Smoky Mountains National Park Historical Photos


Feeding Bears

Sightseers seeking bears is nothing new. This picture was taken in 1946. Note the person attempting to feed the bear from the car. A big no no now, but this was before effects of feeding bears were known. It is against the law to feed a bear.
Picture

Photo Credit: NPS Archives

Oldest known photo of park area:
Mingo Falls

This picture (below, left) is of Mingo Falls and was taken almost 100 years ago. The photo was part of group of photos of the GSMNP area donated to the UTK Archives in 2019. Albert Gordon "Dutch" Roth, born September 20, 1890 in Knoxville, Tenn., is recognized as one of the most prolific early photographers of the Great Smoky Mountains, Greenbrier and Mount Le Conte sections. What began in 1913 as a diversion soon developed into a serious avocation as Roth perfected his penchant for photography while avidly hiking the unexplored regions near his home. He worked exclusively with a Kodak 122 camera, and, often carrying a heavy tripod, would climb twenty to thirty feet up a tree or venture hundreds of yards off the trail to capture the landscape images for which he would later be noted.
Roth remained an amateur photographer, and, consequently, his photographs were never highly distributed. Because of his frequent travels in the mountains and early association with a local hiking club, he left a valuable collection of images that illustrate the pioneer way of life before the advent of the national park.
Compare todays picture with 100 years ago.
Picture
Picture
B & W Photo Credit: UTK Archives, Color Photo Credit: World of Waterfalls,  Text Credit: Brian Solomon

Clingman's Dome Tower

​Construction of the then new Clingman's Dome Tower built in 1959. The 45-foot (14 m) concrete observation tower features a circular observation platform accessed by a spiral ramp. The ramp is 375 feet (114 m) in length, and rises at a 12 percent grade, in synch with the Clingman's Dome Trail. The platform, 28 feet (8.5 m) in diameter, allows spectators a 360-degree panorama of the surrounding terrain. The new tower was designed by Hubert Bebb of the Gatlinburg based architecture firm Bebb and Olson. The new tower replaced the original tower which had fallen in disrepair and was deemed unsafe.

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This is a photo of the original lookout tower located where the Clingmans Dome Tower currently sits.
Photos Credit: NPS Archive

Rockefeller Memorial

Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park at the Tennessee/North Carolina line. The Rockefeller Memorial being crafted in the 1930's vs. present time. The memorial was crafted by men of the C.C.C. and is also where President Roosevelt dedicated the Great Smoky Mountains in 1940. The Rockefeller's donated $5 million to the purchase of land for the park.

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‎Photo and text credit: Sunshine Johnson‎

Large Chestnut Tree


Jim and Caroline Walker Shelton's family standing by large chestnut tree below Tremont Falls in 1920. This tree was felled by Jim Shelton. Woman on left is Caroline Walker Shelton.
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Photo Credit: NPS, Jim Shelton, the brother in-law of the Walker sisters, 1920

Camping Out

​1940's camping near Mount Mitchell.

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Photo Credit: Blue Ridge National Heritage Area

Big Snow

1941 Icewater Spring Shelter
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Photo Credit: UT Library

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