Birth of a National Park in the Smokies: How Knoxville Turned a Great Idea into a Significant Grassroots Movement

For many years, only intrepid explorers and hardy lumbermen were drawn to the forbidding mountains visible on the horizon from Knoxville. Despite early efforts on the North Carolina side of the Smoky Mountains in 1899, things only really got moving after Willis and Annie Davis returned to Knoxville from an inspirational trip to see some of the grand national parks out west. Fired up by the idea that a national park could be developed in the Smokies, Willis helped foster the creation of the durable Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association. Annie herself even ran for public office to ensure that the state legislature played its part, working with the City of Knoxville, and officials in North Carolina to acquire key properties.The road to success over the next 17 years proved far rockier than anyone envisioned, involving many ups and downs, legal battles, political shenanigans, fist fights, and ultimately the acquisition of more than 6,600 separate property parcels. The movement also led to the emotional eviction of mountain folk from their ancestral homes that caused bitterness for years. Ambitious fundraising campaigns attracted large corporate and individual gifts as well as nickels and dimes from hotel bell hops and school children, but it would take a $5 million matching gift from wealthy philanthropist David Rockefeller, Jr. to make the new national park a reality. After all was said and done, Great Smoky Mountains National Park was officially established in 1934 and dedicated in 1940. This is the story of how it all came to be.Written by Paul James and read by Robin Wilhoit.Special thanks to producer Pete Carty. Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project.Funding for this episode has been kindly provided by the City of Knoxville and Friends of the Knoxville History Project as well as donors from National Giving Day 2025, including: Gary Balltrip, Karen Callaway, Steve and Lisa Davis, David Headrick, Theresa Lee and Jacob Love, John and Katherine McCarty, John and Lillian Mashburn, Susan Davenport, Katharine Capito Torbett & Howard Capito, Anne Young, and Christopher Manning.Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org