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…
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