From Blowing Rock, North Carolina, where the Tweetsie Railroad boards to Lookout Mountain, on the Tennessee and Georgia border, "the Land of the Smokies" attracts thousands of tourists each year. Some come to visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; many others delight in the sometimes quirky but always alluring attractions along the highways.
In The Land of the Smokies, Tim Hollis wields his wit, his passion for detail, and almost 200 classic illustrations to produce an incomparable history of fun in the mountains. Hollis shows how the national park was created out of former farms and homesteads. He charts the development of Gatlinburg's crafts industry and examines the many types of restaurants and motels. Through photographs, postcards, brochures, and historiography, he explores popular destinations including Christus Gardens, Rock City, and Ruby Falls, as well as more obscure though no less bewitching stops such as the Tour Through Hell, Magic World, and Santa's Land.
Hollis does not settle for mere nostalgia but also treats the many contemporary celebrities who set up their own theaters and theme parks, such as Dollywood. And what visit to the Smokies would be complete without a round at the many miniature golf courses that line highways to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg?
Tim Hollis is the author of numerous books, including Hi There, Boys and Girls! America's Local Children's TV Programs, and co-author of Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records, both from University Press of Mississippi.
