Third Grade
Worksheets
The Smokies
Where did the Smoky Mountains get their name? Are they really smoky? The Smoky Mountains are in Tennessee. They are in North Carolina. They got their name because it looks like smoke is rising from the trees. It is not smoke. It is a haze. The water in the air and the trees create a haze.
The Smoky Mountains are a part of a national park. It is called Great Smoky Mountain National Park. In 1923, Mrs. Willis P. Davis traveled west in the U.S. She was from Tennessee. She visited many national parks. She thought that the Smoky Mountains were just as beautiful. She thought they should be a national park.
Mrs. Davis spoke her idea to whomever would listen. Money was needed to buy land. Donations were collected. School children gave their extra change. Businesses gave large amounts. North Carolina and Tennessee governments gave money. Millions of dollars were collected. Five million dollars more was needed. The Rockefellers gave the needed money. On June 15, 1934, Congress named the land Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
