Unless you live in this part of the United States, your knowledge of this mountain range and the huge national park that “lives” here is limited. This last summer, Hallmark Channel had a movie that took place here, but most of it centered in the town of Cherokee that’s in the Nation of Cherokee. As we start our time in this national park, let’s start with information from the National Parks booklet. My comments in this post only [are in brackets and italicized], and I’ve added some pictures to show what we’re learning.
“The Great Smokey Mountains are among the highest peaks in the Appalachian mountain range, yet they are rounder and lower in elevation than younger mountain chains such as the Rocky Mountains. How they came to be this way is a story that began almost 1 billion years ago.” [Appalachian Mountains are 1050 miles long, its highest elevation is 6584 feet, and it runs from the Island of Newfoundland in Canada southwestward to Central Alabama. Wikipedia.]
“An ancient sea flooded what is now the eastern United States, submerging the remnants of an old mountain range. The sea slowly deposited layers of sediment onto the ocean floor. The intense pressure of thousands of feet of sediment compressed these layers into metamorphic rock. Almost 300 million years ago, the sea added yet another layer of limestone sediment that was composed of fossilized marine animals and shells. The state was set for the formation of the Appalachian Mountains.”
“As a result of the eons-old shifting of the earth’s tectonic plates (large sections of the earth’s crust), Africa and North America collided about 250 years ago. [Never heard about this, but then geology wasn’t my favorite course in college.] This caused the older, underlying layer of metamorphic rock to tilt upward and slide over the younger limestone rock, slowly creating a towering mountain range, the Appalachians. The older rocks, known as the Ocoee Series, now compose most of the Great Smoky Mountains. Charlie Bunion, Sawteeth and Chimney Tops are dramatic examples of how the rock layers tilted and buckled to form steep cliffs and pinnacles. In Cades Cove, erosion of the overlying metamorphic rock reveals the limestone layer beneath.”
“During the ice ages, massive boulders were created by alternating freezing and thawing of the rock. You can see boulder fields on the Cove Hardwood, Noah “Bud” Ogle and Roaring Fork Motor nature trails.”
“The Smokies originally looked more like the Himalayas than the rounded mountains we see today. The relentless erosive force of water [it rains a lot in the southeast] has sculpted their present-day appearance. Water runoff has also helped to carve the alternating pattern of V-shaped valleys and steep ridges. Landslides caused by a torrential downpour in 1951 caused the large V-slash on Mount LeConte, and rock slides in 1984 briefly closed Newfound Gap Road. As you explore the park, look for ways water continues to sculpt the land.”
Human History
“Evidence of human habitation here goes back thousands of years. The first inhabitants are believed to have been a breakaway group of Iroquois, later to be Cherokee, who had moved south from Iroquoian lands in New England. The Cherokee Nation stretched from the Ohio River into South Carolina and consisted of seven clans. The Eastern Band of the Cherokee lived (and continue to live) in this sacred ancestral home of the Cherokee Nation.”
“The Cherokee enjoyed a settled, sophisticated agriculture-based life. Their towns of up to 50 log-and-mud huts were grouped around the town square and the Council House, a large seven-sided (for the seven clans) dome-shaped building where public meetings and religious ceremonies were held. The Cherokee first encountered Europeans in 1540, when Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto [didn’t know he got all the way inland to this area] led an expedition through Cherokee territory.” [We’ll visit a recreation of such a village in a future blog post.]
“In the late 18th century, Scotch-Irish, German, English and other settlers arrived in significant numbers. The Cherokee were friendly at first, but fought with settlers when provoked. They battled Carolina settlers in the 1760s but eventually withdrew to the Blue Ridge Mountains.”
“To come to terms with the powerful newcomers, the Cherokee Nation attempted to make treaties and to adapt to European customs. They adopted a written legal code in 1808 and instituted a supreme court two years alter. Sequoyah, a Cherokee silversmith, created an alphabet for the Cherokee language and in the space of two years, nearly all of his people could read and write the language.” [Amazing that they all wanted to learn so quickly! When we were in the town of Cherokee, many of the signs were written both in English and Cherokee.}
“But theirs was a losing cause. The discover of gold in northern Georgia in1828 [remember our recent posts about finding gold in northern Georgia?] sounded the death knell for the Cherokee Nation.”
“In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Removal Act, calling for the relocation of all native peoples east of the Mississippi River to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma.”
“The Cherokee appealed their case to the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Marshall ruled in their favor. President Jackson, however, disregarded the Supreme Court decree in the one instance in American history when a U.S. president overtly ignored a Supreme Court decision.” [I’ve often wondered what would happen if a president decided not to follow what the Supreme Court decided; now we know. Since the Court doesn’t have any power of its own to make sure their decisions are carried out, it depends on the ‘good will’ of those in power to carry out its decisions.]
“In 1838, the U.S. government forced some 13,000 Cherokee to march to Oklahoma along what has become known as the Trail of Tears. About one-third of the Cherokee died en route due to malnutrition and disease. [Are you crying yet?] Altogether, about 100,000 natives, including Cherokee, Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw survived the journey.” [I feel so conflicted about this part of our history. On one hand, I hate that we didn’t keep our word to the natives, but on the other hand, every century has seen one stronger group of people displace those who are weaker. We’re not the first to do so and won’t be the last.]
“A handful of Cherokee disobeyed the government edict, however. Hiding out in the hills between Clingmans Dome [we’ll see that spot soon] and Mount Guyot, they managed to survive. In 1889, the the 56,000-acre Qualla Indian Reservation was chartered with a population of about 1000 people. Approximately 10,500 of their descendants now live on the reservation, which is located along the park’s southern boundary.” [The natives we met at the recreation of a village were all descendants of this brave group. All of the businesses in the town of Cherokee are native-owned and operated. We enjoyed lunch at such a restaurant that we’ll see in a later post.]
“Like the Cherokee, pioneers who settled in the Smokies in the 18th and 19th centuries coveted the fertile valleys. Land soon became scarce. Later arrivals made their homesteads along steep slopes.”
“Logging began slowly, but by the time it ran its course, it had radically changed the land and the life of the people. Timber, of course, was vital to the early pioneers. They used it for homes, furniture, fences and fuel. They only began cutting it for cash in the mid-19th century. This had little noticeable effect on the forest, however, because men and animals could only carry so much.”
“Not so by the turn of the century. Technological advances and the eastern United States’ need for lumber nearly eliminated all the southern Appalachian forests. Railroads were the key to large-scale logging operations and railroad tracks reaching deep into the mountains made timber readily available. Steam-powered equipment like skidders and log loaders also contributed to cost-effective tree removal.”
“Some 15 company towns and nearly as many sawmills were constructed in what is now the park. Mountain people who had once plowed fields and slopped hogs began to cut trees and saw logs for a living, abandoning their farms. They were attracted to logging by the promise of security and the stability of a steady paycheck.”
“Their security was short-lived, however. By the 1930s, the lumber companies had logged all but the most inaccessible areas and were casting their sights to richer pickings out West. Some of the mountain people returned to farming while others left to seek jobs in mines, textile mills and automobile factories.”
National Park Status
“In 1904, a librarian from St. Louis named Horace Kephart came to the Smokies for a respite to restore his health. [I can understand why; the air is wonderful.] Kephart found that large-scale logging was decimating the land and disrupting the lives of the people. As the years progressed, he promoted preserving the Smokies as a national park. In the 1920s, prominent Knoxville residents took up the cause and formed a citizens’ organization.”
“The NPS was looking for park sites in the East after having established parks in the West. Founded in 1916, the young agency hoped to generate further public support for national parks with a park closer to the majority of the nation’s population. Along with private efforts, the NPS promoted the idea of a national park in the Smokies.”
“The states of Tennessee and North Carolina and countless citizens responded by giving millions of dollars to purchase parkland. The federal government was reluctant to buy land for parks; national parks in the West had been formed from land it had already owned. Eventually, it did contribute $2 million. Coupled with John D. Rockefeller, Jr,’s donation of $5 million, the NPS reached its goal.”
“Lumber companies were bought out in agreements that phased out operations over several years and some people living within the proposed park boundaries were allowed lifetime residency rights. Most people moved, and consequently were paid more for their land. On June 15, 1934, Great Smokey Mountains National Park was officially established, preserving the land for generations to come.” [Thank you!]
“Steeped in history and blessed with natural beauty, the Smokies provide visitors with historic log cabins, primeval forests and misty vistas of seemingly endless ridgelines.” [We saw the forests, vistas, and ridgelines, but have to see the historic log cabins for another visit.] [The next 2 posts cover our time here. Can’t wait to come back and see more!]
