the smoky mountains became a national park on 15 june 1934.
when did the smoky mountains became a national park?
15 june 1934
as white settlers arrived, logging grew as a major industry in the mountains, and a rail line, the little river railroad, was constructed in the late-19th century to haul timber out of the remote regions of the area. cut-and-run-style clearcutting was destroying the natural beauty of the area, so visitors and locals banded together to raise money for preservation of the land. the u.s. national park service wanted a park in the eastern united states, but did not have much money to establish one. david chapman, a knoxville business leader, was appointed to head a commission to turn the area into a national park in 1925. though congress had authorized the park in 1926, there was no nucleus of federally owned land around which to build a park. john d. rockefeller, jr., contributed $5 million, the u.s. government added $2 million, and private citizens from tennessee and north carolina pitched in to assemble the land for the park, piece by piece. slowly, mountain homesteaders, miners, and loggers were evicted from the land. farms and timbering operations were abolished to establish the protected areas of the park. travel writer horace kephart, for whom mount kephart was named, and photographers jim thompson and george masa were instrumental in fostering the development of the park. former governor ben w. hooper of tennessee was the principal land purchasing agent for the park, which was officially established on 15 june 1934. during the great depression, the civilian conservation corps, the works progress administration, and other federal organizations made trails, fire watchtowers, and other infrastructure improvements to the park and smoky mountains.
great smoky mountains national park
bullet::::- great smoky mountains association





























bullet::::- great smoky mountains heritage center





























bullet::::- wildflowers of the great smoky mountains





























bullet::::- list of birds of great smoky mountains national park





























bullet::::- list of national parks of the united states





























section::::references.





























bullet::::- saferstein, mark. 2004. "great smoky mountains". 22nd ed. american parks network.





























bullet::::- tilden, freeman. 1970. "the national parks"





























bullet::::- "old-time smoky mountain music: 34 historic songs, ballads, and instrumentals recorded in the great smoky mountains by 'song catcher' joseph s. hall" (cd released by the great smoky mountains association, 2010).
great smoky mountains national park