on their trips. For the next five or six days Messrs. Kelsey and Gregg were escorted on horseback to various high points of interest, spending one night on Mount LeConte, from which an extensive view of a large part of the area proposed for a park could be seen. The Governor of Tennessee and other State officials met the committee members in the vicinity of Gatlinburg on their return from Mount LeConte.

After an extensive investigation of the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains area, Mr. Kelsey returned to his home, and Mr. Gregg proceeded on horseback through Indian Gap to Bryson City, on the North Carolina side, and spent some time in investigating the areas in that vicinity.

On September 12, in response to a request from Governor Morgan, of West Virginia, for the members of the committee to attend a conference to be held at White Sulphur Springs, Major Welch and Colonel Smith went to that place where a large assembly of West Virginians held a meeting in the auditorium of the hotel, presided over by Governor Morgan. The governor requested that the committee recommend the area surrounding White Sulphur Springs, which includes numerous other springs, as a location for a national park. After the meeting the committee members were taken by automobile to inspect the area recommended.

Major Welch and Colonel Smith left that evening for Luray to inspect an area lying in the Blue Ridge, extending from Front Royal to Waynesboro. On arrival at Luray they were met by several hundred residents headed by a band. It developed that two delegations were present, one representing those interested in recommending the Massanutten Mountains as an area to be considered, and the other, headed by Mr. George Freeman Pollock, of Skyland, recommending the inspection of the Blue Ridge area. The committee members decided to go immediately to Skyland to make the inspection of that area first. The delegation from the Massanutten Mountains area was invited by Mr. Pollock to accompany the Blue Ridge delegation, and the invitation was accepted.

The committee members, under the guidance of Mr. Pollock, spent three days inspecting the area in the immediate vicinity of Skyland, visiting White Oak Canyon, Stony Man Mountain, and the mountain ridge south of Skyland for a distance of 12 or 15 miles. After this short inspection Colonel Smith and Major Welch were so favorably impressed with the area that they postponed further investigation until arrangements could be made for the whole committee to visit it.

The delegation recommending the Massanutten Mountains area, after this visit, were convinced that the area surrounding Skyland was superior to the Massanutten area; therefore the committee made no investigation of Massanutten at that time.

On October 16, 1924, Major Welch, at the urgent request of Col. L. B. Musgrove, of Jasper, Ala., who had invited the entire committee to inspect an area in northern Alabama, went to Jasper as the committee's representative and was shown an area extending from Muscle Shoals Dam, joining the Alabama National Forest on the south, and comprising about 200,000 acres. It was learned that this area contains a large number of valuable coal seams and deposits of other minerals which made it impracticable for consideration, because

its selection as a national park would prevent future industrial developments.

After the brief inspection of the Blue Ridge area by Major Welch and Colonel Smith, Mr. Gregg visited Skyland and spent a week in more thoroughly investigating the areas lying between Skyland and Waynesboro, riding the ridge on horseback.

After leaving Skyland he stopped at Harrisonburg, where he attended a luncheon of the Rotary Club at which 50 or 60 members were present and discussed with them the possibility of locating a national park in the Blue Ridge area. There seemed to be divided opinion in the Shenandoah Valley ås to the proper location of the proposed park, as many of the inhabitants were recommending the Massanutten Range, lying west of the main Blue Ridge. This divided opinion as to the merit of the two localities was soon overcome, however, and those who had been in favor of the Massanutten area joined forces with the advocates of the Blue Ridge.

In October, 1924, Mr. Gregg offered to make an inspection trip through the Southern States at his own expense with a view to locating possible areas for a national park which the remaining members of the committee could inspect later. He visited the northern parts of South Carolina and Georgia and western North Carolina, going as far south as Tallulah Falls in Georgia, and stopping at Clayton, the county seat of Rabun County, and Dillard, Ga., and Highlands, N. C. Though he found several areas of scenic beauty, they were too thickly settled and too highly cultivated for national-park purposes. From Highlands he proceeded to Asheville and thence to Marion, N. C., where, under the guidance of A. M. Kistler, he visited Blowing Rock. Mr. Kistler then took Mr. Gregg to Grandfather Mountain, which had been highly recommended as one of the outstanding areas for a national park. A day was spent in the vicinity of this mountain, and then Mr. Gregg was taken by Mr. Kistler on horseback down the Linville Gorge to view Linville Falls, thence back to Marion. The route followed by Mr. Gregg was the one which the other members of the committee had previously traveled.

Early in November Major Welch visited Cumberland Gap and vicinity and decided that owing to the large number of mineral deposits within the area it would not be practicable to secure the land for park purposes.

Later, at the invitation of Mr. George Freeman Pollock, proprietor of Skyland, Representative Temple, Major Welch, and Colonel Smith visited the Blue Ridge area for a more thorough investigation. Mr. Kelsey, owing to business engagements, was unable to accompany the other committee members, and Mr. Gregg, who had previously made the inspection, declined the invitation. Making Skyland their headquarters, and under the guidance of Mr. Pollock and several local men who were especially interested in securing the Blue Ridge area for a park, the committee were piloted throughout the area, visiting Stony Man, White Oak Canyon, Ragged Mountain, Hawks Bill, Black Rock, and the Rapidan area, where President Hoover's camp is now located. All of this inspection trip was made on horseback, the committee thus being enabled to get a close view of the special scenic features as well as a general bird's-eye view of the area from high points. The inspection trip lasted about a week,

and the members then returned to Washington. During their stay at Skyland the committee was met by Governor E. Lee Trinkle, Representative T. W. Harrison, Judge J. Barton Payne, Robert Sterling Yard, secretary of the National Parks Association, and William J. Showalter, all of whom advocated the location of a national park in the Blue Ridge area.

On November 15 Chairman Temple, accompanied by Colonel Smith, went to Knoxville, Tenn., to inspect the Great Smoky Mountains area, as they were the only members of the committee who had not thoroughly investigated it. They were met by the officials of the Great Smoky Mountains Park Association, headed by W. P. Davis, president of the association, and Col. D. C. Chapman, chairman, who, with other interested Tennesseeans, took them over practically the same ground that had been visited by the other members of the committee.

Mr. Kelsey was the only member of the committee who had not visited the Blue Ridge area. He therefore spent December 5 to 12 in inspecting the area extending from Front Royal to Skyland and reported to the committee on December 12 that he was heartily in accord with the other members in recommending that area as a site for a national park.

Chairman Temple called a meeting of the committee for December 12, 1924, at which all the members were present. After the routine business was disposed of the committee took up the question of a report to Secretary Work covering investigations made during the eight months of its existence. The following report was submitted by the chairman of the committee:

The members of the committee appointed by you and designated as the Southern Appalachian National Park Committee, in accordance with your instructions, have spent the past eight months investigating the southern Appalachian mountain region with a view of determining whether areas exist of sufficient size, containing scenery of such grandeur, and at the same time typical of the region, which are suitable to be considered as a site for a national park.

Nature calls us all, and the response of the American people has been expressed in the creation, so far, of 19 national parks. All but one are west of the Mississippi River. The two-thirds of our population living east of the Mississippi has contented itself with a few State parks, not knowing that in the southern Appalachian Ranges there are several areas which fill the definition of a national park, because of beauty and grandeur of scenery, presence of a wonderful variety of trees and plant life, and possibilities of harboring and developing the animal life common in the precolonial days but now nearly extinct.

It has not been generally known that eastern parks of national size might still be acquired by our Government. The committee has been impressed with the amount of interest manifested in all sections of the East in the proposed establishment of a national park in the southern Appalachian region, and this interest has resulted in numerous requests that the committee inspect various areas. Many of these requests pertained to localities that have abundant scenic features, but which are not of sufficient size to warrant their being considered for a national park. Every effort has been made to consider carefully the merits of the various proposed sites, and wherever there was evidence that an area seemed to justify the committee in making a personal inspection, visits have been made either by the committee as a whole or by a delegation from it. Many of the areas in these mountains having unquestionable nationalpark features are now in the national forests under Government control and so available for recreational use; the committee is not disposed to suggest a change in their present status.

We inspected the northern part of Georgia, whose fine mountains blend with the Highland region of southern North Carolina. We ascended Mount Mitchell

We went

and viewed the splendid Black Mountain Range north of Asheville. over carefully the Grandfather Mountain region, which for our study included the beautiful country from Blowing Rock to the remarkable Linville Gorge. We responded to the call of the poet-to see Roan Mountain if we would really see the southern Appalachians. We went to Knoxville and from there to the tops of "the Big Smokies," which carry on their crest the boundary line between North Carolina and Tennessee. We went into Virginia to inspect that portion of the Blue Ridge on the east side of the Shenandoah Valley which extends from Front Royal to Waynesboro. Some members of the committee also visited Cumberland Gap, southern West Virginia, northern Alabama, and eastern Kentucky. Several areas were found that contained topographic features of great scenic value, where waterfalls, cascades, cliffs, and mountain peaks, with beautiful valleys lying in their midst, gave ample assurance that any or all of these areas were possible for development into a national park which would compare favorably with any of the existing national parks in the West. All that has saved these near-by regions from spoliation for so long a time has been their inaccessibility and the difficulty of profitably exploiting the timber wealth that mantles the steep mountain slopes. With rapidly increasing shortage and mounting values of forest products, however, we face the immediate danger that the last remnants of our primeval forests will be destroyed, however remote on steep mountain side or hidden away in deep lonely cove they may be.

The

The conditions in the East, where all land is held in private ownership, as compared with those existing in the West when national parks were created from Government-owned lands, have made our problem a difficult one. density of population, together with the commercial development in progress or in prospect, often practically prohibited the selection of areas of great natural beauty which, if located remote from such development, would have been seriously considered.

It is the opinion of the committee that a park in the East should be located if possible where it will benefit the greatest number, and it should be of sufficient size to meet the needs as a recreational ground for the people not only of to-day but of the coming generations. The committee therefore decided that no site covering less than 500 square miles would be considered. This eliminated a large number of proposed areas and allowed the committee to concentrate its efforts on a few that appeared to be possible sites on account of their size, location, and favorable scenic features. These sites have, therefore, been thoroughly examined.

The committee laid down a few simple requirements for its guidance in seeking an area which could be favorably reported to you for the possible consideration of Congress :

1. Mountain scenery with inspiring perspectives and delightful details. 2. Areas sufficiently extensive and adaptable so that annually millions of visitors might enjoy the benefits of outdoor life and communion with nature without the confusion of overcrowding.

3. A substantial part to contain forests, shrubs, and flowers, and moun-
tain streams, with picturesque cascades and waterfalls overhung
with foliage, all untouched by the hand of man.

4. Abundant springs and streams available for camps and fishing.
5. Opportunities for protecting and developing the wild life of the area,
and the whole to be a natural museum, preserving outstanding fea-
tures of the southern Appalachians as they appeared in the early
pioneer days.

6. Accessibility by rail and road.

We have found many areas which could well be chosen, but the committee was charged with the responsibility of selecting the best, all things considered. Of these several possible sites the Great Smoky Mountains easily stand first because of the height of the mountains, depth of valleys, ruggedness of the area, and the unexampled variety of trees, shrubs, and plants. The region includes Mount Guyot, Mount LeConte, Clingmans Dome, and Gregory Bald, and may be extended in several directions to include other splendid mountain regions adjacent thereto.

The Great Smokies have some handicaps which will make the development of them into a national park a matter of delay; their very ruggedness and height make road and other park development a serious undertaking as to time and expense. The excessive rainfall also (not yet accurately determined)

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is an element for future study and investigation in relation both to the development work, subsequent administration, and recreational use as a national park. The Blue Ridge of Virginia, one of the sections which had your committee's careful study, while secondary to the Great Smokies in altitude and some other features, constitutes in our judgment the outstanding and logical place for the creation of the first national park in the southern Appalachians. We hope it will be made into a national park and that its success will encourage the Congress to create a second park in the Great Smoky Mountains, which lie some 300 miles distant southwest.

It will surprise the American people to learn that a national park site with fine scenic and recreational qualities can be found within a 3-hour ride of our National Capital and within a day's ride of 40,000,000 of our inhabitants. It has many canyons and gorges with beautiful cascading streams. It has some splendid primeval forests, and the opportunity is there to develop an animal refuge of national importance. Along with the whole southern Appalachians, this area is full of historic interest, the mountains looking down on valleys with their many battlefields of Revolutionary and Civil War periods, and the birthplaces of many of the Presidents of the United States. Within easy access are the famous caverns of the Shenandoah Valley.

The greatest single feature, however, is a possible sky-line drive along the mountain top, following a continuous ridge and looking down westerly on the Shenandoah Valley, from 2,500 to 3,500 feet below, and also commanding a view of the Piedmont Plain stretching easterly to the Washington Monument, which landmark of our National Capital may be seen on a clear day. Few scenic drives in the world could surpass it.

We therefore recommend the creation of a national park in the part of the Blue Ridge of Virginia above described and shown approximately on the accompanying map.

We have not attempted to estimate the cost of acquiring this area, as we are not sure that it falls within the scope of our committee's work. We suggest, however, that a spirit of constructive cooperation on the part of the State of Virginia and among some of the large landowners of this region with whom we have been in touch promises reasonable prices and perhaps a number of donations.

We suggest that if Congress thinks favorably of this proposed park site, a commission be appointed to handle the purchase and to solicit contributions and to arrange condemnation proceedings if the State of Virginia deems it wise. The creation of such a park may well be made contingent on a limited total land cost.

Secretary Work invited the committee, together with Representative Cramton and Director Mather, of the National Park Service, to a dinner at the Wardman Park Hotel on December 12. At this dinner the question of the name to be given to the proposed park in case it was located in the Blue Ridge area was discussed, and Mr. Kelsey suggested the name "Shenandoah," which met with the unanimous approval of those present. There was no question as to giving the area in North Carolina and Tennessee, long known as the Great Smoky Mountains, the name "Great Smoky Mountains National Park."

In the later part of January Major Welch accompanied Governor Peay, several senators and assemblymen from the Tennessee legislature, the highway commissioner, State geologist, State forester, and other State officials, and Colonel Townsend, president of the Little River Lumber Co., to the Little River Lumber Co.'s holdings, which lie within the proposed Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where they discussed with Colonel Townsend the question of the purchase of 80,000 acres of that company's land proposed for inclusion in the national park.

Secretary Work, following the suggestion made in the committee's report, recommended to Congress that a commission be authorized by them to investigate areas in the southern Appalachian Mountain