![]() Long before we ever relocated to the Smokies, we were regular visitors. ![]() The only section ever built is what you have just driven. In exchange for the loss of land, the federal government agreed to build a road along the north shore connecting Bryson City and Fontana Dam. The creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park had already consumed a substantial percentage of Swain County's land mass, and after the lake was completed the southern boundary of the National Park was extended south to the lake, annexing even more Swain County land. When Fontana Lake was built during World War II, it cut off access to the lands along the new lake's north shore. This is the locally infamous "Road to Nowhere." The Park Service calls it the more palatable "Lakeview Drive," although there is a total of one overlook for viewing said lake. Drive straight ahead about nine miles until the road ends at a steel gate, where you will find parking on the right. Until you realize it is being conscientiously tended.įrom Cherokee, NC, take US-19 to Bryson City and turn right at the first traffic light (Everett Street). On first sight, Woody Cemetery appears to be a wasteland of neglect, a barren moonscape planted in the middle of a verdant green wilderness, sorely in need of maintenance. ![]() ![]() Appreciating the present sometimes involves appreciating the past. To understand Woody Cemetery, it is necessary to try and understand the culture and customs of those who once resided here, and that of their descendants living today. ![]()
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