James Hannah and Mellissee Hannah

James Hannah and Mellissee Hannah lived in Cataloochee in Haywood County, North Carolina. This 1935 photograph was made by Charles S. Grossman (1900-1972). An architect by trade, Grossman worked with the Civilian Conservation Corps, but spent most of his time on historic preservation projects for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In the 1930s, he began an inventory of existing structures in the park, cataloguing more than 1,500 buildings. Grossman favored an “open-air museum” approach to historic preservation, collections of preserved buildings without occupants. He thought that much could be learned about pioneer life from studying its material culture