Last fall, we went to Canton for Mamaw’s funeral. While we were home, I caught myself playing tour guide for the girls and my cousins. I feel like Mamaw would’ve liked that. She loved the mountains – and she loved having us all together. One of the first places we went was Smokemont. It’s a great spot to see the elk and tell family stories (Mamaw’s family lived there before she was born).
I won’t bore you guys with family tales. At least not today. I will fill you in on the history of Smokemont, though. Which is quite deep & rich considering the town disappeared in the 1930s.
The History of Smokemont
Cherokee
The Smokemont area was first occupied by Cherokee, who believed the Oconaluftee River was sacred. The tribe roamed the Great Smokies, but archeological findings confirm a large, permanent village existed in Oconaluftee. It is believed the settlement was destroyed in 1776 during the American Revolution.
Though the Cherokee were impacted by European colonization, settlers didn’t appear in the region until the early 19th century. As European settlements sprang up around Oconaluftee, Native Americans were pushed into smaller territories until the Qualla Territory was established.
Bradleytown
European families began trickling into the area as early as the 1790s when John Jacob Mingus purchased lands in Oconaluftee. This early settlement was called Bradleytown, and the local cemetery is still known as Bradley Cemetery.
Champion Fibre Company
Bradleytown became popular when band saws and railroads made it lucrative for companies to seek the abundant timber of nearby forests. The name was changed to Smokemont when Champion Fibre Company built a sawmill operation in the early 1900s. The sawmill provided the wood necessary to operate Champion’s paper mill in Canton, Haywood County, North Carolina.
By the early 1920s, Smokemont had grown into a large, thriving logging community complete with homes, businesses, a school, a church, commissary, clubhouse, and even a hotel. In its heyday, it produced 45,000 feet of lumber and an equal amount of pulpwood each day.
Establishment of the Great Smokies
In the 1930s, Champion sold their land holdings in Swain County to the federal government, which wanted to create a national park in Appalachia. After the Great Smoky National Park was established, the sawmill in Smokemont was shut down. The families who lived in the logging community were forced to find homes outside of the park’s boundaries.
A Civilian Conservation Corps camp was established at Smokemont to help beautify and create an enjoyable park. The Smokemont CCC Camp 441 constructed roads, hiking trails, and restored Mingus Mill. Nearly twenty years later, several log buildings were moved in to create the Mountain Farm Museum.
By 1939 Smokemont was a ghost town of Western North Carolina. Today Smokemont is nothing more than a campground off of 441 just inside the Great Smoky National Park. Little remains of the original settlement. A bridge, Bradley Cemetery, Mingus Mill, and Lufty Baptist Church are virtually the only reminders of the beloved community that once thrived.
Great post! The girls would love to go back and sing in the church again.
I bet! The acoustics are amazing in there. I imagine the choir at Lufty Baptist sounded like angels. 😉
Great history! Is this somewhere near Outer Banks? Looks so cool.
Thanks! This in Western North Carolina on the opposite side of the state from the OBX. It’s a gorgeous area. Definitely worth a visit! 😉
Thanks so much for the history. My mom was born in Smokemont in 1925. All I knew was there used to be a sawmill there, where my grandfather worked.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! My Papaw Cochran worked there in the 1920s too. He’s actually in the photo of the sawmill crew that’s posted above along with his brother in law, Eph Rolland. The pic was taken between 1920-1925. Take another look, your grandpa may be pictured too! 😉
My grandmother was born there in 1914, and her dad was an engineer for one of the steam engines. I believe he is also in this photo. We used to go every summer to the Homecoming at the church. I treasure her stories of her time there, and have taken our own kids there several times. Thank you for the article.
My Uncle Chet was born there in 1922. I believe one of my other aunts/uncles were too but their birth certificates don’t specify which town they were born in.
Smokemont is one of my favorite spots in WNC. I feel a deep connection to it. I’m glad parts of it have been preserved for future generations.
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing your story! It’s nice to connect with others who have roots here in the Old North State. I hope you’ll stop by again. 🙂
-Cassie
Do you have the names of the men in the company photograph? My grandfather was a log scaler there in the 1920s
I wish I could help, but I only know the names of two of the men in the photograph, Dan Cochran and Eph Rolland. Dan was my great-Papaw and Uncle Eph was his brother-in-law.
BTW- My father was born in/near Bryson City and moved into Champion “Camp 3” in 1921 (when he was 5) he wrote a memoir that you would love. Ill send you a copy if I can get your address…..
Three Thousand Years on the Frontier Book VI: The Mountaineers (on Amazon.com)
by George Parris (Author)
Awww! That would be lovely! Thank you so much! I’ll shoot you an email. 🙂
I’ll have a copy printed for you by tomorrow 6/10
My cousin agrees that our grandfather is in the photo
Log scaler started at Smokemont in 1921…vivid memories about the camp and mountains
When I was a child, we would always drive through Canton and Inka (I guess you got use to the smell) to go over Soco Mt to Cherokee and Bryson City Look up Alfred Washington Parris
Thank you so much! It wouldn’t surprise me if he is. The photo has to be from 1920-1925 since that’s when my Papaw Cochran worked there.
The smell of Canton never bothered me. You couldn’t smell it from where I grew up. And in town, my grandparents always reminded me that without Champion, Canton wouldn’t exist as it is today – and a great many of our WNC ancestors would have lived in poverty. That really shaped the way I viewed the mill.
My Mamaw worked at Enka! I can remember her going to reunions when I was little.
I spent a lot of time in Swain County. I still visit when I take trips back home – it might be my favorite spot in the mountains.
Will do! And thank you again! 🙂
My uncle worked with the CCC in Smokemont, NC. He was from Clermont, GA. Wish I had known earlier, he lived 95 yrs. and just passed away 3 yrs. ago.
My father was with the CCC in Oregon and yet another brother was in another part of NC.
What a wonderful place to be stationed! My Papaw was with the CCCs at the Pink Beds. 😉