Diversity in the Smoky Mountains

The Great Smoky Mountains are known for their splendid beauty. No other place this size can match its variety of plant and animal species. The Great Smoky Mountains is flourished with well over 1,500 flowering plants, dozens of native fish, and more than 200 species of birds and about 60 species of mammals. The National Park Service has a mission to preserve this natural and cultural heritage for future generations. Most of the national is being managed as wilderness. The Great Smokey Mountains got their name from the Cherokee that once lived there. They described the Smokies as shaconage, which means “blue, like smoke.” The Cherokee farmed the land and started building homes. Soon the Europeans took the land and claimed it as theirs. The 1790’s brought white settlers into the lowland and farmland became scarce and commercial agriculture migrated to the Midwest. Logging threats alarmed Congress and in 1926 the park was authorized. In 1934 the park was established and it was one of the first national parks made from private land. North Carolina and Tennessee, citizens, groups, and several schools raised money for the land as a donation to the Federal Government. In the 1920’s and 1930’s many buildings stood in the national park but in the 1930’s the National Park Service saved mostly just the log buildings and now only a few frame houses, mills and churches remain. Many people enjoy coming to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park so they can discover just a small bit of history in a beautiful area. In this national lies some of the nation’s largest collections of log buildings. Plan your next vacation to East Tennessee and visit the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and see why everyone’s always talking about the beauty of this area. One trip and you’ll quickly make this your favorite vacation hot spot.