Road to Nowhere on NPR

"David Snedeker" wrote in message
...
//snip//

The area around Hazel, Eagle, and Forney creeks was not part of the original
park, which Jeff described so well in his earlier posting. The northern bank
of the Little Tennessee river was not as despoiled as some other places
(think Copper Hill TN), but the area had been very heavily logged. The
Ritter Lumber Company, having exhausted the takeable timber, moved out in
1928, and by the time of World War II the residents were pretty much reduced
to subsistence farming.

Alcoa began construction of Fontana dam in 1942, but the need for war
production led to Fontana's takeover by the TVA and the War Production Board
to accelerate power production for Alcoa's aluminum plants (and probably for
other power-hungry production for the Manhattan Project at nearby Oak
Ridge). War production needs also led to the re-opening of the Westfeldt
copper mine, and together with labor to construct Fontana there was full
employment at Proctor and nearby communities in the early '40s.

The land on the north shore of the lake was constrained by the GSMNP on the
north and by the lake on the south, so after the lake filled there would be
no road access. The TVA determined that it would buy that property, just as
Alcoa and TVA had earlier purchased many thousands of acres that are now
submerged. As anyone who has visited the area knows, there is little arable
land there, and it seems likely that in 1944 the values were low. I think
TVA offered something like $38 per acre. Nevertheless, the vast majority (I
think over 95%) of the landowners accepted the TVA offers. The land of those
who refused was condemned and taken. Much of the land was owned by large
landowners, including the North Carolina Exploration Company, a unit of
Cities Service Company, now known as either Citgo or Occidental Petroleum
(actually, Cities Service retained rights to much of the land there until
1983).

Incidentally, the cemeteries associated with several communities that would
be covered by the lake were relocated.

From the time the residents were removed until today there have been
numerous proposals for a road. But for some reason, the residents themselves
were seldom heard from until the 1970s. The displaced residents held their
first reunion in 1978 at Deep Creek Campground, and for several years their
organization tried to bring pressure on politicians to complete the road.

Today, it appears that much of the impetus for building the road comes from
construction outfits and real estate developers. It does appear that most of
the citizens of Swain County would prefer the cash settlement instead of the
road. But it is also likely that politicians would rather have campaign
contributions than the votes of the relatively few residents of Swain County
whose votes would matter. That's why it's so important for all of us who
value the natural environment of the area to speak out.


--
Bob Patton
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