Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Swain County, North Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Horace Kephart's Last Permanent Camp
May 30, 2007
1. Horace Kephart's Last Permanent Camp Marker
Erected 1931 by Horace Kephart Troop, Boy Scouts of America, Bryson City, N.C.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Parks & Recreational Areas.
Location. 35° 31.197′ N, 83° 25.182′ W. Marker is in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina, in Swain County. Marker can be reached from the intersection of Deep Creek Trail and Martins Gap Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Bryson City NC 28713, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Measure of Men (approx. 4.8 miles away); Fifty Years of Mountain Logging (approx. 5 miles away); Mountains: Refuge and Healing (approx. 5 miles away); And It Became Land (approx. 5 miles away); The Top of the Smokies (approx. 5 miles away); Spared the Saw (approx. 5.2 miles away); Cherokee Indian Reservation / (Leaving) Cherokee Reservation (approx. 5.2 miles away); Southern View (approx. 5.3 miles away).
Additional commentary.
this page online
"... Kephart found refuge from summer visitors seeking him out by camping at the old Bryson Place, now a designated camping area in the national park, situated about 10 miles north of Bryson City alongside Deep Creek. He would sometimes go there for an entire summer, hauling in by wagon or on horseback the supplies and equipment he required, which included a small folding desk and writing materials."
An excerpt from the book, Mountain Passages: Natural and Cultural History of Western North Carolina and the Great Smoky Mountains by George Ellison (see link provided).
— Submitted October 20, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.
2. Kephart Memorial
On January 5, 2009, I visited the Kephart Memorial near Bryson Place, together with John Kennerly and Richard Ryburn. John Kennerly hiked to Martins Gap, while Richard Ryburn and I looked for the marker. It was somewhat difficult to locate; both of searched for almost an hour, and Richard finally found it. Therefore I am submitting this additional information in the hope that it will help others locate the memorial more easily.
The memorial is located approximately 322' SW (bearing 220 degrees) from the Martins Gap Trail sign. From the trail sign, go back down the trail
May 30, 2007
2. Horace Kephart's Last Permanent Camp Marker
— Submitted January 10, 2009, by Frank March of Sevierville, Tennessee.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 30, 2020. It was originally submitted on October 20, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia. This page has been viewed 3,971 times since then and 77 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 20, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia.
