- City:
- Gatlinburg, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN
- Site Type:
- Monuments and Memorials, Civic Facilities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
- Completed:
- 1940
- Quality of Information:
- Very Good
- Marked:
- Yes
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
Rockefeller Memorial, in Newfound Gap, honors a $5 million gift from the Rockefeller Foundation to complete land acquisitions for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), as were the roads, trails, and other structures in the park, the memorial was the site of the dedication of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on September 2, 1940 by President Roosevelt. National Park Service Director from 1933-1940, Arno B. Cammerer is credited with convincing John D. Rockefeller of the “urgency of protecting the Smokies from the lumber companies and the value of a park in the East” (McCue, 2013, p. 2).
Source notes
McCue, J. (2013). The great possibilities of doing something worth while for humanity: The partnership of Arno Cammerer and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Great Smoky Mountains Colloquy, 14(2). The University of Tennessee Libraries.
Creating a National Park, National Park Service.
Newfound Gap, National Park Service.
Site originally submitted by Susan Allen on August 27, 2015.
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