Western Carolina University WCU University of North Carolina Asheville UNCA

Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (3) View all
  • Canton Champion Fibre Company (3)
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University of North Carolina Asheville (2) View all
  • Bennett, Kelly, 1890-1974 (30)
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Lakes -- North Carolina, Western Back to search results
WCU - Picturing Appalachia

Lake above Ela Dam

  • wcu_picturing-6223.jpg
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  • A buttress dam with spillways operates as part of the newly-constructed Bryson Municipal Plant, more commonly known as Ela Dam with the lake visible behind it. The dam, located on the Oconaluftee River near its confluence with the Tuckasegee River, was built in the mid-1920s by Smoky Mountain Power Company and purchased by the Nantahala Power & Light Company in 1942. This photograph was taken by “Doc” Kelly Bennett (1890-1974), a prominent pharmacist in Swain County, NC. Owner of the Bryson City Drug Company, Bennett served as alderman and mayor of Bryson City, on the Swain County Board of Education, as well as several terms as NC State Senator and NC State Representative. He participated in numerous other initiatives and organizations. Known as the “Apostle of the Smokies,” Bennett was an instrumental figure in the movement to create the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He was also an avid photographer, skillfully documenting a wide variety of people, places, and events in Swain County and the surrounding area.

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Picturing Appalachia

This digital collection brings together several notable photographic collections that depict the landscape and people of western North Carolina in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Notable...

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wcu_picturing-6223.jpg