GREAT SMOKIES & BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAINS MAY BECOME NATIONAL PARKS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 23, 1924, The Sunday Star reports "two national parks...will be the ultimate result of the Government's determination to establish in the Southern Appalachian Mountains a vast outdoor playground for the people of the East."
A five man committee appointed by the Secretary of Interior has returned from a tour of the Great Smoky Mountains* of Tennessee and North Carolina enthusiastic about "the scenery and rugged beauty" they have seen there.
Harold K. Philips writes that the Smokies and the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia are regarded as "virtually certain" of becoming national parks.
*The Great Smoky Mountain National Park, headquartered in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, was chartered by Congress in 1934 and officially dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 2, 1940. It is the first national park to be partially paid for with federal funds.
The Shenandoah National Park of Virginia was chosen first because of its proximity to cities in the North.
JFK+50 NOTE
I was born and raised in Knoxville, Tennessee in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. I have lived my whole life here except for 3 months when I did my student teaching in Chattanooga.
We have enjoyed the beauty of the mountains and the cities of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge many many times over the years. Its just a little harder these days to make the drive up there because of all the tourists on the road, but that's good for the economy.
SOURCE
"Board May Select Two Parks In East Tennessee," by Harold K. Philips, The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., November 23, 1924, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
