In 1929, Tennessee farmer John W. Oliver refused to accept $20 an acre for his 375-acre farm in Cades Cove, land officials wanted to acquire for the proposed Great Smoky Mountains National Park. What followed was a years-long legal battle over property rights, eminent domain and the creation of one of America’s most famous national parks.
Oliver was among the Cades Cove residents who resisted the government’s efforts to acquire private land for the park. His family farm was part of a mountain community where generations of residents had built homes, farms, churches, schools and barns.
