“The richness of the Great Smoky forest has been the wonder and admiration of everyone who has traversed it.” – Horace Kephart, Our Southern Highlanders

On Saturday, November 14, the Western North Carolina Historical Association (WNCHA) and WNCHA Vice President Geoff Cantrell will lead an interpretive walking tour of Kephart’s life in downtown Bryson City. Join us as we trek approximately 2 miles around the downtown landmarks of Bryson City that Kephart witnessed and wrote about during his residence here. This walk, featuring several interpretive stops, will take approximately two hours. We will learn about the life and legacy of Horace Kephart as it intersected with the people and environment here in town and around Deep Creek. We will also admire the amazing views of the Bryson City Cemetery, where Kephart is buried overlooking the town, the mountains, and the park he helped to establish. We will meet at 10:00am at the Bryson City Cemetery and park in the designated parking spaces. From there, we will walk down into town and stop at points of interest along the way. We will conclude with the uphill walk back to the cemetery to see the graves of Kephart and other familiar names in his writings.

The Details
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2020 at 10:00am (rain or shine)
Time: 10:00am – 12 noon
Location: Bryson City Cemetery (80 Hillside Dr, Bryson City, NC 28713)
Cost: By donation for WNCHA members (suggested $15). $25 for the general public.
Registration: You must register at the link below
What to Bring: A water bottle, weather-appropriate attire and comfortable boots/shoes, facemask (mandatory) and hand sanitizer (mandatory)
Note: The highest priority of this event is safety. Due to Covid-19, participants must agree to follow mandatory safety guidelines during this activity in order to participate. These precautions and practices are: making every reasonable effort to maintain social distancing of six feet, mandatory facemask usage when meeting at interpretive stops and when you are unable to maintain at least six feet of distance from other individuals, even non-participants. Participants should also sanitize their hands before and after the activity. WNCHA reserves the right to cancel the activity or refuse service to an individual if safety precautions are not heeded. Our group size is also limited to 15 individuals.