Noteworthy Names and Places
of the
Great Smoky Mountains

Ever wonder how some of the places in the Smokys got their name?  Ever wonder about the people that lived there long ago?  Well, this page attempts to cover some of those bases. 

It is way beyond the scope of this page to offer complete biographies on any of the people listed here.  Rather, it offers only the briefest overviews, and only in the context that the made contributions to the park.

Please note the date it was started...  Of course, it will be sparse in the beginning, and it will grow over time, but if you see something that I've overlooked or missed, please shoot me an email using either the sites form-mail, or a standard e-mail client.  Thank you.

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-A-

• Abraham () - Cherokee indian chief.  Abrams Creek in Cades Cove was named for him.
• Aden Branch - Probably named for Aden Carver, a pre-park resident of the area.
• Albright Grove - Virgin stands of giant yellow poplars, beeches, maples, Fraser magnolias, and tuliptrees.  Named for Horace M. Albright.
• Albright, Horace Marden (1890-1987)- Director of National Park Service from 1929 to 1933.  Albright Grove is named in his honor.  Here is his NPS biography.
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-B-

• Baxter, Alex and Sara - Owners of the Baxter cabin, a cabin along the Maddron Bald Trail.  It was built in 1889 entirely out of American Chestnut, and possibly one single tree.
• Bell, Mary - See "Smith, Mary (née Bell)"
• Brewer, Carson (1920-2003) - Writer and columnist for the Knoxville News Sentinel.  Selected books and papers included:
  Hiking in the Great Smokies (1962)
  Valley so Wild: A Folk History (with Alberta Brewer, 1975)
  A Wonderment of Mountains, the Great Smokies: Selected Columns (1981)
  Just Over the Next Ridge: A Traveler's Guide to Little-Known and Out-of-the-Way Places in Southern Appalachia (1987)
  
• Buckeye Bald - .
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-C-

• Calhoun, John C. (1782-1850) - Statesman and politician from South Carolina.  As U.S. Secretary of War, he negotiated Calhoun Treaty with the Cherokees in 1819.  His career political positions included Secretary of War, Secretary of State, U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and Vice President of the U.S.  For more, see his LOC Biography.
• Campbell, Joseph - Credited with naming "Snake Den Ridge Trail" after finding a den of rattlesnakes around the old Inadu Knob area of the park.
• Cammerer, Arno B. (1883-1941) - Director of National Park Service from 1933 to 1940.  Mount Cammerer, formerly known as "White Rock," is named in his honor.  Here is his NPS biography.
• Carver, Aden - Pre-Pre-park resident local to the Clingmans Dome area.
• Clingmans Dome - At 6,643', it is the highest point in the park.  It is named for Civil War General and U.S. Senator, Thomas Clingman.
• Clingman, Thomas Lanier (1812-1897) - U.S. Representative: 1843-1845, U.S. Senator: 1858-1861, both from North Carolina.  During the Civil War, he refused to resign his Senate seat, so they expelled him in absentia, one of ten to be so expelled.  During the Civil War, he served in the Confederate States Army as a general.  After the Civil War, he began surveying mountains in the Smoky Mountains area.  Clingmans Dome is named in his honor.  See Clingman's Dome
• Cosby Creek Campground - Campground located in the northeast side of the park.  The entrance is located on the Tennessee side of the park.
• Cosby, Jonathan () - Early Cocke County, TN settler, trapper, and distiller.  Cosby, TN is possibly named for him.
• Costner, Ella (1894-1982) - Cosby, TN resident.  Named Poet Laureate of the Smokys.  She is buried near the Cosby Campground.
• Cozby, Dr. James (1752-1831) - Revolutionary War veteran.  Also, friend of Gov. John Sevier.  Cosby, TN is possibley named for him.
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-D-

• Davis, Mrs. Willis P. - A wealthy and influential member of the Knoxville area around the 1920s.  After visiting the national parks out west in 1923, she believed that the Smokys were worthy of the same status.  Arguably, she is credited with beginning the movement to establish the park. .
• Dickey, Joe - One of the principal Pennsylvania investors in the Little River Railroad and Lumber Company.
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-F-

• Fine, Peter (1753-1826) - Early Cocke County, TN settler.  Fine established Fine's Ferry in what is now known as Newport, TN.
• Fine, Vinet () - Peter Fine's brother.  Killed in 1783 while chasing a band of Cherokee raiders.
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-G-

• Gilliland, John (1725-1798) - Early Cocke County, TN settler.  Gilliland settled near the mouth of the Pigeon River.
• Guyot, Arnold Henry (1807-1884) - A Swiss-American geologist and geographer, Guyot used a barometer to measure many of the Southern Appalachian elevations.  In 1872, he discovered that "Newfound Gap," not nearby Indian Gap, was the lowest pass through the mountains.  Mt. Guyot is named in his honor.
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-H-

• Huskey, Mary Jane - see "Ogle, Mary Jane (née Huskey)"
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-I-

• Inadu Knob - Elevation: 5,941'.  Located at the southern end of Maddron Bald Trail between the A.T. and Snake Den Ridge Trail.
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-K-

• Kate () - Wife of Cherokee Chief Abraham.  At one time, some historians believed Cades Cove may have been named for her.
• Kephart, Horace (1862-1931) - American writer and author of "Our Southern Highlanders" originally published in 1913, and revised and expanded in 1922.  In 1904, Kephart moved to North Carolina and lived in what would become the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  Arguably, he is credited with beginning the movement to establish the park.  Mt. Kephart is named in his honor.  Western Carolina University has a short Kephart biography here.
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-L-

• Lee, Asbury - One of the principal Pennsylvania investors in the Little River Railroad and Lumber Company.
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-M-

• Maddron Bald Trail - Hiking trail that runs from the north edge of the park to the A.T.  It intersects Snake Den Ridge Trail and Gabes Mountain Trail, and passes by Albright Grove.
• Maddron, Lawson and Annie - One of several Maddron families of the pre-park days.  They were local to the area just east of what is now modern day Cosby Creek campground.  They are most likely the family that Maddron Bald, Maddron Creek, and Maddron Bald Trail are named for.
• Marshall, Catherine (1914-1983) - Author of "Christy," a fictional book based on her Mother, Leonora Whitaker Wood, a teacher in the early 1900s in Cocke County, TN.
• Masa, George (1881-1933) - Born Masahara Izuka, in Osaka, Japan, Masa immigrated to the United States and became a professional large format photographer.  Along with Horace Kephart, he was instrumental in the effort to make the Great Smoky Mountains a national park.  Also, Masa scouted and marked the entire North Carolina portion of the Appalachian Trail.  Here is a short PBS biography.
• Mather, Stephen T. (1867-1930) - First director of the National Park Service from 1916 to 1917.  Here is his NPS biography.
• McCormic, F.H. - One of the principal Pennsylvania investors in the Little River Railroad and Lumber Company.
• Messer, Christian Sargent - Family settled in Haywood County, North Carolina in 1780.
• Messer Farm - .
• Messer Fork - .
• Messer, John - .
• Messer Trail - Original name of current day Gabes Mountain Trail.
• Messer, Will - Family settled in Smokys in 1895.  Their apple barn is on display at the Mountain Farm Museum near the Oconaluftee visitor center.
• Mount Cammerer - Elevation: 5,025'.  Named for Arno Cammerer.  Previously named White Rock. 
• Mount Guyot - Elevation: 6,621.  Named for Arnold H. Guyot.  Second highest peak in the Smokys.
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-N-

• National Park Service - Established August 25, 1916 by the National Park Service Organic Act.
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-O-

• Odell, Samuel (1750-1789) - Early Cocke County, TN settler.  Arguably, first to settle in Cosby Creek Valley.
• Ogle, Mary Jane (née Huskey) - First Anglo/European settler (along with her seven children) in the White Oak Flats area of Tennessee.  White Oak Flats would become Gatlinburg, TN.
• Ogle, William "Billy" (1756-1803) - Husband of Mary Jane Huskey Ogle of Gatlinburg fame.  Ogle wanted to to settle in what called the "land of paradise," but died before he could get his family moved White Oak Flats. 
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-R-

• Russell, Gladys (née Trentham) (1917-2009) - Local english teacher and author of Call Me Hillbilly, Smoky Mountain Family Album, and It Happened in the Smokies.  She grew up and lived in the Forks of the River near the Sugarlands area of the park in the pre-park days.
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-S-

• Sevier County - County in east Tennessee.  Named for John Sevier.
• Sevier, John (1745-1815) - Only governor of the State of Franklin (1785–1789), Governor of Tennessee (1796–1801 and 1803–1809), and U.S. Representative from Tennessee (1811-1815) when he died.  He was also a Revolutionary War veteran.  Sevier County is named for him.
• Smith, Mary (née Bell) () - Author of "In the Shadow of the White Rock".
• Snider, Peter (1776-1867) - European trader who settled near Tuckaleechee Cove.  Verified existence of Cherokee Chief Kade who Cades Cove is believed to be named for.
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-T-

• Townsend, TN - One of gateway communities into the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• Townsend, Wilson Bailey (3/24/1854-2/22/1936) - Colonel Townsend was the Principal Pennsylvania investor for and President of the Little River Railroad and Lumber Company.  He is buried along with his first two wives, Margaret and Elizabeth at the Old Gray Cemetary in Knoxville, TN.  Townsend, Tennessee is named for him.
• Trentham, Gladys - see "Russell, Gladys (née Trentham)"
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-W-

• Walker, Hettie Rebecca - One of the famous Walker sisters.
• Walker, John - Father of the famous Walker sisters.  Built what was to become known as the Walker Sisters' Cabin in the 1870s.
• Walker, Louisa Susan - One of the famous Walker sisters, she was last to survive.  She passed away in 1964.
• Walker, Margaret Jane - One of the famous Walker sisters, she was the next to last to pass away.
• Walker, Martha Ann - One of the famous Walker sisters.
• Walker, Nancy Melinda - One of the famous Walker sisters.
• Walker, Polly - One of the famous Walker sisters.
• Walker Sisters - Margaret, Polly, Martha, Louisa Nancy, and Hettie, Six of eleven children born to John Walker.  Initially, they refused to sell, but under pressure from the National Park Service, they finally sold their 123 acres in 1941 for $4,750.00.  They retained a lifetime lease to stay in the park until they passed away.  The four boys and one sister (Sarah Caroline) all moved away.
• Walker Sisters Cabin - Cabin built in the 1870s by John Walker, father of the famous Walker Sisters.  It was lived in until 1964 when Louisa Walker died.
• White Rock - Original name for current day Mt. Cammerer.
• Whitson, William (1739-1819) - Early Cocke County, TN settler.  In response to settlement raids in 1783 by the Cherokee, he established Whitson's Fort just south of the mouth of Cosby Creek at the Pigeon River.
• Wrigley, J.W. - One of the principal Pennsylvania investors in the Little River Railroad and Lumber Company.
• Wood, Leonora Whitaker (1891-) - Teacher at the Presbyterian Mission School in the Morgan Gap area, near Del Rio, TN (Cocke County) from 1910-1912.  Mother of author Catherine Marshall ("Christy").
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Resources

Coggins, Allen R.  Place Names of the Smokies. 
Gatlinburg.  Great Smoky Mountains Association.  1999.

DeLaughter, Jerry.  Smokies Road Guide: A Complete Guide to the Roads In Great Smoky Mountains National Park. 
Gatlinburg.  Great Smoky Mountains Association.  2006.

"Great Smoky Mountains.", and linked articles.  National Park Service: U.S. Dept. of Interior.  2007. 
<http://www.nps.gov/grsm/>.  (17 Jun. 2007).

"First 75 Years, The.", and linked articles.  National Park Service: U.S. Dept. of Interior.  2000. 
<http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/sontag/>.  (17 Jun. 2007).

"Peakware.", and linked articles.  World Mountain Encylopedia.  2002. 
<http://www.peakware.com/>.  (21 May 2007).

"Place Names in the Smoky Mountains.", and linked articles.  Hiking In The Smokys.  2009. 
<http://www.hikinginthesmokys.com/place_names_of_smokies.htm>.  (7 Oct. 2009).

Trout, Ed.  Historic Buildings of the Smokies. 
Gatlinburg.  Great Smoky Mountains Association.  1995.