False, cheap and degraded: When history, economy and environment collided at Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Journal of Historical Geography

Volumn 32, Issue 1, 2006, Pages 169-189

  Young, T ^a  

^a CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Cades cove; Environmental management; Historic preservation; National parks; Southeastern U.S.; Tourism

Indexed keywords

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT; HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY; NATIONAL PARK; NATURE CONSERVATION;

APPALACHIANS; GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS; NORTH AMERICA; UNITED STATES;

EID: 31144468634     PISSN: 03057488     EISSN: 10958614     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhg.2004.06.001     Document Type: Article

References (111)

1. Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Cades Cove: Auto Tour, Gatlinburg, TN, 1981, 1, 9-10. "Cove"; is the local term for a sheltered, open area surrounded by hills or mountains.
2. The policies and practices used at Cades Cove are by no means unique within the National Park Service. See R.Z. Melnick, D. Sponn and E.J. Saxe, Cultural Landscapes: Rural Historic Districts in the National Park System, Washington, DC, 1984;
3. C. Gilbert, T. Black, L. Majdiak and D. Scena, Four Historic Landscape Studies, Olympic National Park, Seattle, 1984;
4. A.J. Lamme, America's Historic Landscapes: Community Power and the Preservation of Four National Historic Sites, Knoxville, 1989;
5. K. Ahern, Cultural Landscape Bibliography: An Annotated Bibliography on Resources in the National Park System, Washington, DC, 1992.
6. For a wider discussion of issues surrounding cultural landscape preservation, see A.R. Alanen and R.Z. Melnick (Eds), Preserving Cultural Landscapes in America, Baltimore, 2000.
7. This article's research is guided by W. Cronon Modes of prophecy and production: Placing nature in history Journal of American History 76 (1990) 1122-1131
8. E. Hendrickson and S. Mark, A naturalist's view of Crater Lake Lodge, Crater Lake National Park Nature Notes 26, http://www.nps.ov/crla/notes/ vol26b.htm, accessed on 18 June 2003.
9. Brief Description of Project, Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project, Point Reyes National Seashore, http://www.nps.gov/pore/pdg/ scoping_document.pdf, accessed on 18 June 2003.
10. Director's Order #17: National Park Service Tourism, http://www.nps.gov/ policy/Dorders/Dorder17.html, accessed on 18 June 2003.
11. C.M. Hall and S.J. Page, The Geography of Tourism and Recreation: Environment, Place and Space, 2nd edition, New York, 2003, 257.
12. Accuracy in historic preservation and its impact has been a topic of lively debate in the journal Public Historian. For recent examples see A. Hoagland Architecture and interpretation at Forts Laramie and Bridger Public Historian 23 1 (2001) 27-54
13. D. Bousé Restoring the photographed past Public Historian 24 2 (2002) 9-40
14. R. Hayashi Transfigured patterns: Contesting memories at the Manzanar National Historic Site Public Historian 25 4 (2003) 51-72
15. See A. Mathieson and G. Wall, Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social Impacts, New York, 1982, 103-112 on the impacts of tourism on water pollution and wildlife in national parks elsewhere.
16. Since the 1980s, the National Park Service has recognized that cultural and natural resources blend seamlessly into one another and so encourages balance in the management of its sites. See, for example, S. Bratton (Ed.), Vegetation Change and Historic Landscape Management: Proceedings of the Conference on Science in the National Parks, Fort Collins, CO, 1986;
17. C.A. Birnbaum (Ed.), The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes, Washington, 1996.
18. The annual visitor numbers come from Park Facts, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, http://www.nps.gov/grsm/pphtml/facts.htm, accessed on 18 June 2003.
19. R.H. Whittaker Vegetation of the Great Smoky Mountains Ecological Monographs 26 1 (1956) 2
20. C.C. Campbell, Birth of a National Park in the Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville, TN, 1960, 28.
21. In 1819, the Cherokee signed their 21st treaty with the U.S., surrendering one quarter of their lands including the Smoky Mountains. See At Home in the Smokies: A History Handbook for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, National Park Handbook 125, Washington, 1984, 43-52.
22. Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Cades Cove: Auto Tour, Gatlinburg, TN, 1981, 1, 4.
23. D. Dunn, Cades Cove: The Life and Death of a Southern Appalachian Community, 1818-1937, Knoxville, TN, 1988, 227, 243.
24. Campbell, Birth of a National Park, 138.
25. C.D. Smith The Appalachian National Park Movement, 1885-1901 The North Carolina Historical Review 37 (1960) 38
26. For whiggish histories of the park, see Campbell, Birth of a National Park, 28;
27. M. Frome, Strangers in High Places: The Story of the Great Smoky Mountains, Rev. Ed., Knoxville, TN, 1966.
28. For analyses that are more critical see D.S. Pierce, The Great Smokies: From Natural Habitat to National Park, Knoxville, TN, 2000;
29. M.L. Brown, The Wild East: A Biography of the Great Smoky Mountains, Gainesville, FL, 2000;
30. Dunn, Cades Cove, 227, 243.
31. These two business groups were neither the first nor the only ones to have supported the creation of a park for touristic reasons. In the American context, see A. Runte, National Parks, The American Experience, Lincoln, NE, 1979
32. or in Australia see C.M. Hall, Tourism and the establishment of national parks in Australia, in: R.W. Butler and S.W. Boyd (Eds), Tourism and National Parks: Issues and Implications, New York, 2000, 29-38. Moreover, these business groups were not the first ones to pursue a park in the region. The work of the Asheville Board of Trade between 1899 and 1901 is detailed in Smith, The Appalachian National Park.
33. Mather is quoted in Runte, National Parks, 116.
34. D. Zaslowsky and the Wilderness Society, These American Lands: Parks, Wilderness, and the Public Lands, New York, 1986, 25.
35. Runte, National Parks, 115-116.
36. Pierce, The Great Smokies, 78ff.
37. Campbell, Birth of a National Park, 31.
38. An act to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River as a public park, in: L.M. Dilsaver (Ed.), America's National Park System: The Critical Documents, Lanham, MD, 1994, 28.
39. The exclusion of indigenous peoples and their activities are explored in: M.D. Spence, Dispossessing the Wilderness: Indian Removal and The Making of the National Parks, New York, 1999 (Glacier NP and Yosemite NP);
40. S. Hirst, Havsuw 'Baaja: People of the Green Water, Supai, AZ, 1985, 72-77 (Grand Canyon NP);
41. K.F. Olwig, Cultural Adaptation and Resistance on St. John: Three Centuries of Afro-Caribbean Life, Gainesville, FL, 1985, 160-173 (Virgin Islands NP).
42. Dunn, Cades Cove, 251.
43. Dunn, Cades Cove, 247.
44. Campbell, Birth of a National Park, 98-99;
45. Dunn, Cades Cove, 250.
46. The Caughron quote is in: Dunn, Cades Cove, 253;
47. on policies, see A.R. Shields Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Tennessee Historical Quarterly 24 (1965) 115
48. The total number of buildings destroyed is noted in: J.R. Eakin, Superintendent's Monthly Report, September 1931, Library, Great Smoky Mountains National Park (hereafter Lib GSMNP), 3. The destruction of the 100 buildings is in: J.R. Eakin, Superintendent's Monthly Report, May 1931, Lib GSMNP, 4.
49. General Information Regarding Great Smoky Mountains National Park North Carolina-Tennessee, Washington, DC, 1933;
50. GSMNP-Promotional Publicity 1930s, Lib GSMNP.
51. Conversely, the history of reconstructed wildernesses is beginning to be explored. See, for example, J. Reich Re-creating the wilderness: Shaping narratives and landscapes in Shenandoah National Park Environmental History 6 (2001) 95-117
52. L.A. Watt The trouble with preservation, or, getting back to the wrong term for wilderness protection: A case study at Point Reyes National Seashore Yearbook of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers 64 (2002) 55-72
53. Pierce, The Great Smokies, 181-182, discusses Ranger Hough's efforts.
54. The signing of the Historic Sites Act is discussed in: H.D. Unrau and G.F. Williss, Expansion of the National Park Service in the 1930s: An Administrative History, Washington, DC, 1983, at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/ history/online_books/unrau-williss/adhi5h.htm, 2003.
55. The quote from Leland's March 7, 1935 letter is recorded in: H. Huth, Report on the Preservation of Mountain Culture in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, August 1941, Lib GSMNP, 1; the letter is also discussed in: Dunn, Cades Cove, 255.
56. Leland's participation on the Educational Advisory Board is discussed in H.C. Bryant and W.W. Atwood, Jr., Research and Education in the National Parks, Washington, DC, 1932, at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/ resedu2d.htm, accessed on 16 July 2003. Leland was also permanent secretary of the American Council of Learned Societies. The Historic Sites Act established the Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings, and Monuments to supersede the National Park Service Educational Advisory Board.
57. According to H.D. Unrau and G.F. Williss, Expansion of the National Park Service in the 1930s: An Administrative History, Washington, DC, 1983, at: http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/unrau-williss/adhi5h.htm, accessed on 16 July 2003. Interior Secretary Harold Ickes appointed Leland to this new board in February 1936.
58. E.S. Bowman, Land of High Horizons, Kingsport, TN, 1938, 31-32;
59. H.D. Shapiro, Appalachia On Our Mind: The Southern Mountains and Mountaineers in the American Consciousness, 1870-1920, Chapel Hill, NC, 1978, insightfully develops the history of this perception of Appalachia.
60. The extent and persistence of this misperception is demonstrated by its presence in: L. Thornborough, The Great Smoky Mountains, Rev. Ed., Knoxville, TN, 1942;
61. R. Peattie (Ed.), The Great Smokies and the Blue Ridge: The Story of the Southern Appalachians, New York, 1943;
62. J.S. Hall, Smoky Mountain Folks and Their Lore, Asheville, NC, 1960;
63. E. Porter and E. Abbey, Appalachian Wilderness: The Great Smoky Mountains, Natural and Human History, New York, 1970;
64. A. Brewer and C. Brewer, Valley So Wild: A Folk History, Knoxville, TN, 1975.
65. H.D. Shapiro, Appalachia On Our Mind: The Southern Mountains and Mountaineers in the American Consciousness, 1870-1920, Chapel Hill, NC, 1978, ix.
66. J.R. Eakin, Superintendent's Monthly Report 1935, May Lib GSMNP, 5
67. H.C. Wilburn, C.S. Grossman and A. Stupka, Report on the Proposed Mountain Culture Program for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 28 June 1938, Lib GSMNP, 1, 15, 20, 48.
68. A.R. Shields Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park Tennessee Historical Quarterly 24 1965 102 115
69. Memoranda from H.C. Wilburn to Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 7 December 1939 and 13 April 1940, in Management Papers, Mgt. XIV-10 Mountain Culture - Correspondence, Lib GSMNP.
70. Memorandum from A.B. Cammerer, Director, National Park Service to Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 5 March 1940, in Management Papers, Mgt. XIV-10 Mountain Culture - Correspondence, Lib GSMNP.
71. Memorandum from W.B. King, Assistant Wildlife Technician to Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 24 April 1940, in Management Papers, "Mgt. XIV-10 Mountain Culture - Correspondence," Lib GSMNP.
72. The cutting and burning are noted in the unpaginated document: National Park Service, Cades Cove-Meadow Maintenance, in General Description: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1941, Lib GSMNP;
73. see also S. Bratton R.C. Mathews Jr. P.S. White Agricultural area impacts within a natural area: Cades Cove, a case history Environmental Management 4 (1980) 435
74. Letter from V.L. LaFollette, Acting Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park to Sr. Salomon Vilchez M., Servicio Forestal, Lima, Peru, 26 April 1967, in Resource Management Papers, "Res.Mgt. III-3 Cades Cove Management Plan,"; Lib GSMNP, 2.
75. H. Huth, Report on the preservation of mountain culture in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, August 1941, Lib GSMNP, 15, 17, 18.
76. National Park Service, Cades Cove-Meadow, General Description: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1941, Lib GSMNP.
77. National Park Service, Cades Cove-General, General Description: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1941, Lib GSMNP.
78. National Park Service, Cades Cove-proposed Facilities, General Description: Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 1941, Lib GSMNP.
79. For a cultural analysis of the loop road, see T. Young, Virtue and irony in a U.S. National Park, in: T. Young and R. Riley (Eds), Theme Park Landscapes: Antecedents and Variations, Washington, DC, 2002, 155-182.
80. D. Lowenthal, The Past is a Foreign Country, New York, 1985, 338-340.
81. Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Cades Cove, Gatlinburg, TN, n.d. [1960], 6-7.
82. National Park Service, Cades Cove-General Statement.
83. T.J. Allen, Memorandum for the Director, National Park Service, 16 June 1949, in Management Papers, "Mgt. XVI-1 Cades Cove Management,"; Lib GSMNP, 1.
84. The number of permittees is noted in O.B. Taylor, Memorandum for the Regional Director, National Park Service, n.d., in Resource Management Papers, Res.Mgt. III-1 Cades Cove Land Management, 1946, Lib GSMNP, Table 2. Although this item is undated, a copy was attached to a memorandum dated July 29, 1946, transmitting it to Washington.
85. LaFollette to Vilchez, 2.
86. John O. Morrell, Memorandum to the Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 21 August 1970, in Management Papers, Mgt. XVI-1 Cades Cove Management, Lib GSMNP, 3.
87. Taylor, Memorandum, 1.
88. Bratton, Mathews and White, Agricultural area impacts, 435.
89. The Cades Cove Story, in Cades Cove (Tenn.) 1950s, Lib GSMNP, 2. This is chapter II, Part 4 from a Ranger Manual for the park.
90. Management Improvement Committee, Report of a Study of the Development and Management of the Cades Cove Area in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 20 December 1956, in Management Papers, Mgt. XVI-1 Cades Cove Management, Lib GSMNP, 2.
91. The recommendations are in Management Improvement Committee, Report, 6-7. The condition of the three permittees is discussed in F.J. Overly, Memorandum to the Regional Director, Region One, 11 December 1958, in Management Papers, Mgt. XVI-1 Cades Cove Management, Lib GSMNP, 2.
92. E.A. Hummel, Memorandum to Messrs. Gibbs, Wilhelm, Stupka, Johnson, Koster, 20 February 1957, Management Papers, "Mgt. XVI-1 Cades Cove Management," Lib GSMNP, 1.
93. E.A. Hummel, Letter to G.M. Begun, 30 October 1957, Management Papers, Mgt. XVI-1 Cades Cove Management, Lib GSMNP, 1.
94. C.C. Lamb, Comments on Resource Management, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 19 April 1968, in Resource Management Papers, Res.Mgt. III-3 Cades Cove Management Plan, Lib GSMNP, 1, 3.
95. G.L. Sneddon, Memorandum to Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 13 May 1968, in Resource Management Papers, Res.Mgt. III-3 Cades Cove Management Plan, Lib GSMNP, 2.
96. Cades Cove Study Team, Memorandum to Superintendent, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 30 January 1969, in Resource Management Papers, Res.Mgt. III-3 Cades Cove Management Plan, Lib GSMNP, 11.
97. The Fish and Wildlife Service's 1972-74 research is discussed in Bratton, Mathew and White, Agricultural area impacts, 438-439
98. G.L. Larson R.C. Mathews Jr. J.L. Klausmeyer A survey of bacterial water quality in Abrams Creek, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Journal of The Tennessee Academy of Science 55 (1980) 1
99. Bratton is quoted in R.W. Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History, New Haven, 1997, 237-238.
100. R.C. Mathews, Jr., Ecological survey of Abrams Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Uplands Field Research Laboratory, Research/ Resources Management Report Number 28, Gatlinburg, TN, 1977. Another UFRL study revealed that excessive levels of fecal coliform remained detectable for 15 stream kilometers below the valley.
101. See D.G. Silsbee, L.A. Plastas and H.J. Plastas, A Survey of Backcountry Water Quality in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Uplands Field Research Laboratory, Research/Resources Management Report Number 10, Gatlinburg, TN, 1976.
102. Bratton, Mathews and White, Agricultural area impacts, 444-447.
103. National Park Service, General Management Plan, Great Smoky Mountains National Park/North Carolina-Tennessee, Denver, 1982, 27.
104. The introduction dates and wolf populations were listed on Red Wolves Return, http://www.nps.gov/grsm/redwolf.htm, accessed on 29 March 1999.
105. Brown, The Wild East, 295-298;
106. S. Baron Red Wolves in the Smokies: A worthy experiment The Chattooga Quarterly Summer 2002 http://www.chattoogariver.org/Articles/2002Su/ Wolves.htm accessed on 21 July 2003.
107. P. Shute J.R. Shute P.L. Rakes R.G. Biggins Recovery success for four listed fish Endangered Species Update 15 (1998) 30-31
108. Brown, The Wild East, 292-294.
109. According to the NPS website at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/gsmsite/ cadescove.html, accessed on 12 March 2001, Kermit Caughron, the last resident, died in 1999.
110. The revisions to the 1982 master plan were discussed during a January 19, 1999 phone interview with Robert Wightman, National Park Service, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. See also D. Soehn and J. Beeler, Meadow restoration in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Programs & Abstracts, Measuring, Mitigating, and Managing Human Impacts in the Southern Appalachians, SAMAB 13th Annual Conference, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, November 5-7, 2002, Knoxville, 2002, 26-27;
111. T. Fraser Biologists work to put native grasses back in the Cove Maryville Daily Times (29 June 2003)