Laurel Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park – circa 1940
The Great Smoky Mountain National Park was dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1940.
It is one of the largest nature preserves in the eastern US, straddling several mountain ranges on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina.
Today, it is the most-visited site of the National Park Service.
In recent years, attempts have been made within the park to share the story of the Cherokees for whom these mountains comprised their traditional homeland – until their cruel and devastating removal (“The Trail of Tears”) under Andrew Jackson.
This postcard photograph I believe, was made and published about the time of the park’s dedication.
It was first printed by Harry N. Martin of Asheville, North Carolina.
(I do not know if Martin had any connection to the Asheville Postcard Company which became a leading publisher of “linen” postcards.)
The postcard was neither addressed nor mailed; an anonymous collector saved the image as a memento of some real or imagined visit.
