History of Great Smoky Mountains

The area’s first known inhabitants were prehistoric Indians, which were followed by the Archaic Period Indians, who date back as far as 10,000 years ago. The Eastern Woodland Indians made their homes in the mountains between 900 B.C. and 900 A.D., and the Indians of the Mississippian Period lived in the area until around 1600. The Cherokee—the tribe with which the Smokies are most closely associated—descended from those early civilizations. They settled mainly in Western North Carolina, using East Tennessee primarily as hunting grounds, until increasing conflicts with white settlers led to their being marched en masse to Oklahoma in the 1860s on the infamous Trail of Tears.

The presence of white explorers dates back to Hernando de Soto, who visited in the 1500s. By the time of the Revolutionary War, large numbers of white men were introduced to the area as colonial armies clashed with the British and their allies, the Cherokee. At war’s end, a number of those who had fought for the Continental Armies received land grants in recognition of their service, and they began to settle around the French Broad River, Boyd’s Creek and the Little Pigeon River. By the end of the 18th century, the area known today as Sevier County was well settled. In fact, the county in its current form was established in 1796, the same year Tennessee achieved statehood.

The idea for a national park in the Smokies was first proposed in 1923, but it would take years of effort before that vision would come to fruition. The land was largely privately owned at the time by lumber companies, until the area along the Tennessee-North Carolina border began to gradually be purchased through an organized effort by citizens of both states and donated to the government to be preserved as a national park. These groups faced a lot of opposition along the way, both from the timber companies and from the longtime residents whose families had lived in the mountains for generations. There were also major financial obstacles and government red tape to overcome. In 1931, however, the park’s first superintendent and rangers reported for duty, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the park in 1934.

When all was said and done, more than $12 million was spent acquiring land for the park, but its current market value is immeasurable. The park is home to thousands of species of plants and animals, 800 miles of hiking and horseback trails, trout-filled mountain streams and scenic and historic points of interest like the Cades Cove community and Mt. LeConte, just to name a couple. Plus the changing of the leaves in autumn is itself a sight to behold, helping to draw many of the 10 million annual visitors who make the pilgrimage to the national park (compared to the one million who visited in its first year of operation). Great Smoky Mountains National Park is still one of the few parks in the system that still doesn’t charge an admission fee.