Open-Air Museum in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA: The Issue of Authenticity in Protecting the Cultural and Natural Landscape
Tomaszek T. 2021. Open-Air Museum in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA: The Issue of Authenticity in Protecting the Cultural and Natural Landscape. Journal of Heritage Conservation. 66:144-155
ABSTRACT: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most visited forest areas in the United States. The largest collection of historic log buildings in the south-eastern part of this country has been preserved in the park. Their most attractive cluster, considered one of the most important open-air museums in North America, is located in Cades Cove—a historic agricultural settlement and the most beautiful valley in the park. This paper presents the intriguing history of the process of protecting the natural and material heritage of the southern Appalachians, which resulted in a kind of re-creation of the natural and cultural landscape of the Great Smoky Mountains. The issue of the authenticity of the historic site and the historical structure in the context of the conservation carried out as an interpretation aimed at extracting a desired narrative of the protected natural and cultural area, was also subjected to a critical examination. The presented issues are illustrated with specific examples of historic wooden buildings—the remains of the material heritage of the southern Appalachians which is exhibited in the form of an open-air museum.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Tomaszek, Tomasz
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- authenticity in the protection of cultural heritage, Cades Cove, cultural and natural landscape, historic structures, open-air museum, wooden architecture