The Great Smokies Marker

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Cherokee in Swain County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

The Great Smokies

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 14, 2009

1. The Great Smokies Marker

Inscription. (Side One):
The Great Smokies: scenic, diverse, culturally rich. The scenic view here are well known; lesser known is the abundance of life. The Smokies' rugged topography creates a diversity of species found in few other places in North America. And the Smokies' rich human heritage includes the Cherokee, decades of mountain culture, and a unique national park story. The best experience the Smokies you must leave your car. Walk the trails, visit the historic sites, and enjoy the sanctuary that is Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

(side 2):
Nature forged the Great Smokies, but the hands of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers helped shape the national park we know today. During the 1930s, enrollment peaked as 4,300 men worked here, building roads, campgrounds, trails, and buildings. The also reared fish for stocking, fought fires, and practiced innumerable other trades. Their work remains an important part of the fabric of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The CCC was the first of several federal job programs designed to lift the nation out of the Great Depression. Created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, the CCC employed three million men, most of them between 18 and 25 years old. Roosevelt declared their work "of moral and spiritual value, not only to those ... taking part, but to the rest of the country as well."

Hands That Built Photo, Click for full size

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 14, 2009

2. Hands That Built

Erected by National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior.

Location. 35° 36.653′ N, 83° 25.486′ W. Marker is in Cherokee, North Carolina, in Swain County. Marker is on U.S. 441. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cherokee NC 28719, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Appalachian Trail (a few steps from this marker); Rockefeller Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker in Tennessee); Land of Diversity (within shouting distance of this marker in Tennessee); People of the Mountains (within shouting distance of this marker); A Mountain Sanctuary (about 300 feet away, in a direct line); Great Smoky Mountains National Park (about 300 feet away); Land of Blue Smoke (about 400 feet away); “To the free people of America” (about 500 feet away in Tennessee). Click for a list of all markers in Cherokee.

The Great Smokies Markers Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, August 6, 2012

3. The Great Smokies Markers

By Bill Coughlin, August 6, 2012

4. The Great Smokies Markers

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 14, 2009

5. CCC Camp

Symbols indicate locations of CCC camps in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Campswere numbered sewuentially, based upon the order in which they were established.

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 14, 2009

6. CCC Workers

CCC workers performed tasks ranging from the administrative to the backbreaking. CCC worker planes shingles, and a crew builds the bridge over Little River near Elkmont. Within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Oconaluftee Visitor Center Rockefeller Memorial, and Park Headquarters near Gatlinburg are all endring examples of the work of CCC stonemasons.

By Stanley and Terrie Howard, March 14, 2009

7. CCC Camp

Twenty-two CCC camps-each home to about 200 men-were built in the park. Each ws commanded by an army officer, and camp life inevitable had military aspects. Most enrollees received $30.00 per month, of which $25.00 was mailed home.

Credits. This page originally submitted on June 19, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 984 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 19, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. 3, 4. submitted on August 29, 2012, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey. 5, 6, 7. submitted on June 19, 2009, by Stanley and Terrie Howard of Greer, South Carolina. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.