Logging: poplar near Three Forks Branch

This photograph shows the work of a logging crew operating in the Smokies. While many believe that the Great Smoky Mountains was made up of small family farms, in reality, 18 lumber companies together owned about 85% of the proposed park area. Five companies had major holdings, including Champion Fibre, Suncrest Lumber, Ravensford Lumber, Morton Butler Lumber, and the Little River Lumber Company. By the 1920s, 300,000 acres had been clear-cut