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Great Smoky
Mountains
NATIONAL PARK
TENNESSEE—NORTH CAROLINA
OPEN ALL YEAR
[Illustration: stream in woods]
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE
INTERIOR · Douglas McKay, _Secretary_
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE · Conrad L. Wirth, _Director_
Great Smoky
Mountains
NATIONAL PARK
The National Park System, of which this park is a unit, is
dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic
heritage of the United States for the benefit and enjoyment of its
people.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is located on the crest of the
high divide which forms the boundary between Tennessee and North
Carolina. This mountain range, representing one of the oldest uplands
on earth, zigzags through the park from northeast to southwest for 71
miles, or 54 miles by air line. For 36 miles along its main crest the
range maintains an altitude in excess of 5,000 feet. Sixteen of its
peaks rise more than 6,000 feet. The deep blue haze rising from the
valleys to the summits of the lofty peaks gives these mountains their
name.
[Illustration: _View from Heintooga Overlook._]
Renowned for its splendid forests and containing a rich variety
of plant life, the Great Smokies region has long been regarded by
prominent botanists as the cradle of the present vegetation of
eastern America.
Arnold Guyot, eminent scientist whose exploration of the Appalachian
System began a century ago, was the first to describe the Great Smoky
Mountains from personal observation. He wrote:
“Although the high peaks of the Smoky mountains are some fifty feet
lower than the isolated and almost exceptional group of the Black
mountains, by their number, their magnitude, the continuity and
general elevation of the chains, and of the base upon which they
repose, they are like a massive and high citadel which is really the
culminating region of all the Appalachian System.”
History of the Park
Prior to the start of the 20th century, the area now comprising
the park was little known to the outside world, although DeSoto is
believed to have viewed the mountains. They were, and still are, the
home of the Cherokees who now occupy the Cherokee Indian Reservation
in North Carolina, adjacent to the park on the south. The few white
settlers were the rugged mountaineer descendants of colonists from
England and Scotland who lived isolated and primitive lives. The
Great Smokies region became better known during and subsequent to
World War I when logging railroads of lumber companies penetrated
some of its virgin forests. Still later, highways skirted the area
and visitors were able to view its majestic peaks from a distance.
The successful movement for the creation of a national park in this
area was begun in 1923, and its establishment was authorized by
the Federal Government by act of Congress approved May 22, 1926.
Enabling acts were passed by the State legislatures of North Carolina
and Tennessee in 1927, and land acquisition was begun with State
funds, matched by a generous donation made by John D. Rockefeller,
Jr., through the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, in honor of
his mother. Subsequently, Federal funds were made available for the
completion of the project.
On February 6, 1930, the Governors of North Carolina and Tennessee
presented the Secretary of the Interior with deeds to an initial
158,876 acres of land on behalf of their respective States. A limited
park was thus established for administration and protection. The
park, now containing 507,168 acres of Federal lands, was formally
dedicated on September 2, 1946.