GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WATE) — It was 88 years ago on June 15, 1934, that President Franklin Roosevelt signed legislation establishing the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Since then, the park has become the most visited National Park in the United States. In 2021, the park saw 14.1 million visitors. The park spans 522,419 acres and is one of the largest protected wildlife areas in the country.
Follow Pigeon Forge News on Google News
The Smokies is the most-visited national park, with more than 14 million visits made to the beloved mountain range in 2021 alone. It wouldn’t be possible but for the imagination and determination of East Tennesseans.
The desire to create a national park in the Smoky Mountains dates back to the 1890s. However, the movement did not pick up steam until the 1920s.
Former State Rep. Ann Davis is often credited for suggesting the park to her husband, Willis P. Davis, while returning home to Knoxville from a visit to several Western national parks in 1923. The conversation led the couple to begin recruiting advocates and supporters.
In 1924, Davis was elected the first woman from Knox County to serve in the Tennessee State House of Representatives. The “mother of the park” used her position to further the effort to create it.
Other supporters of the park include Horace Kephart, George Masa, David Chapman, Paul Fink, Ben Morton, Mark Squires, Jim Thompson, and Charles A. Webb. Each of these men worked to show the importance of preserving the Smokies.
-
Horace Kephart would live in Hazel Creek for several year where he gain inspiration to write about the people who lived in the Smokies. Kephart was exchanging letters with Fink about wanting to create a national park in the Great Smokies. His writings would help advocate for the park. (Photo via NPS) -
George Masa was a photographer from Japan who moved to Asheville, NC. His photos would often accompany articles by Kephart, aiding in convincing the public of the need to raise money for the park. Masa was also the first person to systematically measure many of the trails in the park and to chart the terrain of the Smokies. (Photo via NPS) -
Colonel David Chapman played a leading role in bringing the park idea to fruition, especially in Tenenssee. According to NPS, he dealt with multiple obstacles including opposition from park opponents, lack of funding for land purchase, and controversial condemnation actions. (Photo via NPS) -
Paul Fink worked closely with Chapman, Kephart, and others in promoting the Great Smokies as a national park in the early 1920s and continuing throughout the park movement. He was also largely responsible for routing the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies. (Photo via NPS) -
Mark Squires, a State Senator from North Caroline, was instrumental in leading and keeping the National Park campaign on the NC side on track. (Photo via NPS)
-
Jim Thompson’s photographs help make a convincing argument for choosing the Smokies in the early 1920s as a suitable area for a new national park by the Southern Appalachian National Park Committee. His photos also helped gain public support for the campaign. (Photo via NPS) -
Charles Webb, the editor and co-publisher of the Asheville Citizen-Times, was an important ally in rallying support for the park movement in NC. Through an editorial published in 1925, he aroused support for the campaign. He also help to take on the timber companies who published ads against making the Smokies a national park. (Photo via NPS)
-
Ann Davis (Photo via NPS)
In May 1926, a bill was signed by President Calvin Coolidge that provided for the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Shenandoah National Park. By 1928, enough money had been raised to purchase the land for the park.
However, buying the land was difficult as hundreds of families had to be forced out of their homes. According to the National Park Service, some went willingly, and others fought against it, but most families moved immediately. An effort is now underway to document those homesites.
The park was officially established in June 1934. Crews went to work turning the former logging sites into a national park.
A dedication was held in September 1940. President Franklin Roosevelt spoke from the Rockefeller Memorial at Newfound Gap at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line.
In 2020, about 12 million visitors escaped the pandemic by traveling to the park. There they spent $1 billion in communities like Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, according to the National Park Service.
To learn more about the founding and history of the park, click here.