A National Park in the Great Smoky Mountains

President Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks at the dedication of the Smoky Mountain National Park in September 1940. Image held by the State Archives

On May 22, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill that established the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The process had been difficult, taking many years and much negotiation before the park became one of the 59 parks in the national system.

The idea to create a park in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee started in the late 1890s.  Initially there was a debate over whether to make the public land preserve in this area a national park or a national forest. The main difference is that in a national forest, timbering of the land is permissible, while in a national park, scenery and resources are protected.

A 1948 souvenir postcard packet Great Smoky Mountains National Park now held by the State Archives

Once Coolidge signed the bill establishing the park, supporters had to find the funds to purchase an initial 150,000 acres before the Department of the Interior would assume responsibility. By 1928, $10 million had been raised by individuals, the North Carolina and Tennessee state legislatures, private groups and a campaign by school children. Thousands of small farms and homesteads as well as large timber corporations had to be bought out. The park was dedicated in 1940 and today it is the nation’s most visited park.

You can also check out the 1927 North Carolina law that authorized the purchase of land for the park online in the digital collections of the State Archives and State Library.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Murder in Yanceyville Sparks “War”

William H. Holden

On May 21, 1870, J. W. Stephens, a state senator and Freedman’s Bureau agent, was murdered by Ku Klux Klansmen in the basement of the Caswell County Courthouse in Yanceyville. On that Saturday there was a political rally near the courthouse. One of the people in attendance was J.W. ‘Chicken’ Stephens, despised by the local Ku Klux Klan chapter for his progressive attitudes towards blacks. Governor William W. Holden had tasked Stephens with investigating suspected Klan members, the same Klan members who had marked Stephens for death. Lured into the basement of the courthouse, Stephens was ambushed and stabbed; his body was left on a woodpile.

The murder, along with that of black town commissioner Wyatt Outlaw in Graham earlier that year, led Gov. Holden to declare martial law in Alamance and Caswell Counties. Holden, believing the area to be in a state of insurrection, called up the militia to occupy the area and settle the racial violence. The episode, which has become known as the Kirk-Holden War, led to Holden’s impeachment and removal from office in 1871.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Highway Patrol Outfitted in Morehead City

A 1935 Highway Patrol vehicle that is now part of the collection at the N.C. Transportation Museum in Spencer

On May 20, 1929, the first candidates for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol reported to Camp Glenn in Morehead City. Charles D. Farmer, superintendent of equipment for the State Highway Commission, was selected to serve as captain and commanding officer. Nine lieutenants, one for each of the state’s Highway Division Districts, were appointed to assist in the administration of the patrol. The plan was to hire 27 patrolmen, three for each district. A total of 67 applicants were selected to attend the first highway patrol training school.

The courses for the first class of cadets included Motor Laws, Pistol Marksmanship and Geography of North Carolina. After six weeks, the students with the best records were appointed to the Highway Patrol. The novice patrolmen were issued uniforms and motorcycles. The nine lieutenants received Ford coupes, and Charles Farmer was given a Buick. The entire group embarked on a statewide tour in order to engender support for and confidence in the new program. The 1,028-mile tour took the men from Beaufort to Asheville and back to Raleigh, with many stops along the way. Concluding at the State Capitol, all 37 members of the force took their oaths of office and reported for duty.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Elvis Upstages, Excites in Raleigh

Elvis taking a break from his 1955 tour

On May 19, 1955, Hank Snow’s All Star Jamboree tour, featuring a new young talent named Elvis Presley, ended at Memorial Auditorium in Raleigh. It marked the beginning of the end of the touring relationship between the headliner, Faron Young, and featured player Presley. Young later recounted that each night of the tour Elvis got bigger and wilder crowds. Before intermission, each show included a new talent portion in which Presley took the stage, with the headliners performing after intermission.

As the tour progressed, fans began to shout for more Elvis during the other performances, and he was called back for encore after encore. In the early days of the tour Colonel Tom Parker, as booking agent, actually paid teenagers $5 apiece to scream for Presley. He used the publicity photographs to send to the newspapers in the next cities on the tour. Other performers on the tour recalled how much they discounted Presley and his odd onstage behavior. Most country singers thought that he was a fad who would quickly fade, but Presley soon found himself the headliner, and few established stars would agree to perform with him on a tour.

Other related resources:

• Music on NCpedia
• Resources on North Carolina Arts and Craft from the State Library
• The North Carolina Arts Council

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

North Wilkesboro and the Roots of NASCAR

A pit crew working during a 1954 stock car race

On May 18, 1947, the North Wilkesboro Speedway opened its doors to a crowd of more than 10,000 spectators who watched Fonty Flock win the first official race held there. The 5/8-mile oval dirt track was well-known for challenging the best of drivers.

Stock car racing fans and scholars have long acknowledged that the roots of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) are closely tied to the tradition of illegal moonshine production. Races between “runners” evolved into spectator events. The North Wilkesboro Speedway was among the first tracks recognized by NASCAR during its inaugural year of 1949. NASCAR’s first finale took place there, with the crowning of the first points champion, Robert “Red” Byron, in October 1949.

The speedway often has been called to as “The House that Junior Built,” a reference to racing legend Junior Johnson who began his career there at age 16. Johnson earned four of his 50 career NASCAR victories there, and continued his success on the track as a team owner.

The last NASCAR race at North Wilkesboro, won by Jeff Gordon, was held on September 29, 1996, with more than 60,000 fans in attendance.

Other related resources:

• Auto racing and NASCAR on NCpedia
• The holdings of the Department of Cultural Resources related to NASCAR
• The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, at the N.C. Museum of History, of which Johnson is a member

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day subscribe by email using the box on the right and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

The Term “Air Conditioning” Coined

Stuart Cramer

On May 17, 1906, North Carolinian Stuart Cramer coined the term “air conditioning.” Though not particularly skilled as a textile executive, Cramer contributed significantly to the cotton mill industry by using his engineering and invention skills. In 1895, he established his textile business and, over the next 10 years, designed and equipped more than 150 (or roughly a third of all) cotton mills in the South. Cramer invested his profits back into his own mills, especially those in the community that came to bear his name, Cramerton.

A 1941 air conditioning manual in the collection of the N.C. Historic Sites

Though he got his start in cotton, Cramer is best known for the role he played in the development of air conditioning. The holder of more than 60 patents, he pioneered humidity control and ventilating equipment for cotton mills and installed scores of such systems in plants across the South. In a paper read before an American Cotton Manufacturers Association convention, Cramer was the first to use the term “air conditioning.” Though credit for the invention of air conditioning does not belong to one person, the biographer of industry giant W. H. Carrier attributes 11 technological advances and “outstanding work which later had a large part in the air conditioning industry” to Cramer.

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Gov. Tryon Takes on the Regulators at Alamance

On May 16, 1771, the Battle of Alamance was fought. The two opposing forces were colonial militia, under the command of Governor William Tryon, and a band of frontier citizens known as Regulators, who raised arms against corrupt practices in local government. Tryon’s force of 1,100 men marched into Regulator country to subdue the uprisings. About 2,000 Regulators, armed with old muskets and makeshift weapons, organized near Tryon’s camp. Messages were exchanged, with the governor demanding immediate and complete surrender of the Regulators and the Regulators petitioning the Governor for reforms.

Nothing came of the negotiations and, on the morning of May 16, Tryon ordered his forces to march. Tryon sent messages offering surrender terms while his militia marched slowly forward, but the Regulators rejected them all. The governor’s artillery began the engagement, followed by concentrated musket fire from the militia. The Regulators prevailed for a while before retreating into the woods. Eventually Tryon ordered a charge, which drove the Regulators from their positions.

Nine Regulators were killed, more than 200 were wounded and between 20 and 30 were taken prisoner. Nine of Tryon’s men were killed and another 61 were wounded. Though the Battle of Alamance quieted the Regulators, the effects of their calls for reform eventually reverberated.

Other related resources:

• Events at Alamance Battleground
• Alamance Battleground State Historic Site
• Farming Dissenters: The Regulator Movement in Piedmont North Carolina from N.C. Historical Publications

For more about North Carolina’s history, arts and culture, visit Cultural Resources online. To receive these updates automatically each day, make sure you subscribe by email using the box on the right, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.