HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Horace Kephart

Bryson City, Swain County, North Carolina

Marker Inscription

Horace Kephart. Author of "Our Southern Highlanders" (1913) and other works, naturalist, librarian. Grave 3/10 mi. S.W. Mt. Kephart, 30 mi. N., is named for him.

Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources

The Story

Horace Kephart came to the Great Smoky Mountains and gave the wider world its lasting portrait of southern Appalachian life. His 1913 classic "Our Southern Highlanders" chronicled the mountain people among whom he lived, and as a naturalist and librarian he championed the region's wild landscape. A towering peak on the state line, Mount Kephart, carries his name.

Why it matters

Kephart's writing and advocacy helped inspire the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, protecting one of the East's great wildernesses.

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Related people

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Themes & tags

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