Tennessee & North Carolina
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park was not carved from empty federal wilderness. This regional guide begins in a living Cherokee homeland, then follows mountain mills and farms, Newfound Gap, Rockefeller philanthropy, Kuwohi, Elkmont logging and resort history, Cades Cove displacement, curated historic buildings, CCC public works and modern ecosystem management to show how one of America's most beloved parks protected a landscape by fundamentally changing the communities inside it.
Stories in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
- Oconaluftee: The Park Begins in a Living Cherokee Homeland
- Mingus Mill: Mountain Life Used Industrial Technology Too
- Newfound Gap: A Road Turns Two States into One Park
- Rockefeller Memorial: Philanthropy Helps Buy a National Park
- Kuwohi: A Famous Mountain Gets an Older Name Back
- Elkmont: The Logging Town That Became a Resort and Then a Park Problem
- Cades Cove: The Scenic Valley Was a Community Before It Was a Loop Road
- Cable Mill: Preservation Chooses Which Buildings Become the Past
- CCC Legacy: The Park Was Built During the Depression
- Sugarlands: A National Park Is a Managed Ecosystem, Not a Time Capsule