General Information Regarding Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina - Tennessee

office of National Parks

AUTHORITY for the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee is contained in the act of Congress approved May 22, 1926. That act in effect provided that lands within the exterior boundaries of the park as described and approved by the Secretary of the Interior could be accepted by him, in his discretion, if tendered to the United States in fee simple for park purposes; furthermore that, when a minimum of 150,000 acres of such land had been so accepted, administration and protection could be undertaken, but that no general development could be undertaken until a minimum of 427,000 acres had been tendered and accepted. At this writing 297,000 acres are under the administration and protection of the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior. It was estimated that $10,000,000 would be needed to acquire all the land within the area. All of this land was privately owned. A great portion, practically primitive in character, was in the hands of lumber companies. About one-half of the purchase price was pledged by the States of North Carolina and Tennessee and their citizens, and the other half contributed on a basis of matching dollar for dollar by the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial in memory of Laura Spelman Rockefeller. Both States are actively engaged in acquiring the land still needed to complete the park, and it is hoped that this work may be finished within a comparatively short time. As the United States is prohibited by law from undertaking any development of the park until the minimum of 427,000 acres has been turned over to it for that purpose, visitors will not find the conveniences and interesting activities they are used to in the other national parks of the system. However, on account of its convenient location and its great popularity among those seeking recreation and enjoyment in the open, numerous comfortable accommodations are available at hotels and inns located near the park boundaries, and a few carried on under temporary permit within the park area itself. A list of these is given on pages 12 and 13.