A Playground for the Privileged: The Appalachian and Wonderland Clubs in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

This thesis examines the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National park and how members of two social clubs, the Appalachian and Wonderland Clubs, were able to overcome the federal government's use of eminent domain and remain living inside the park boundaries from the early 1900s until 1992. It looks at why life-long leases were exchanged for 20-year leases that were renewed twice and questions whether or not the elite statuses of members had influence in the federal government's decisions to allow the clubs to stay. An attempted bribery by the two clubs is discussed, as well as what eventually happened to the residents and their homes at Elkmont