Tennessee farmer refused $20 an acre for national park land

In 1929, Tennessee farmer John W. Oliver refused to sell his 375-acre Cades Cove farm for $20 an acre. After years of legal battles over land wanted for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, he ultimately lost his farm and received $17,000 in 1935. Why John W. Oliver refused to sell his Cades Cove farmFarmer eventually received $17,000 for his 375 acresGreat Smoky Mountains National Park changed life in Cades CoveMore than 4,000 people were affected by the park’s creationWhy the government wanted the SmokiesGreat Smoky Mountains National Park was dedicated in 1940In 1929, Tennessee farmer John W. Oliver refused an offer of $20 an acre for his 375-acre farm in Cades Cove, land that officials wanted to acquire for the proposed Great Smoky Mountains National Park. When state officials began acquiring land for the proposed national park, Oliver refused to accept the $20-per-acre offer for his property.Condemnation proceedings against him began in 1929. European settlement expanded in the early 19th century, and by 1850, the Cades Cove population had reached 685.As the national park movement gained momentum in the 1920s, Tennessee and North Carolina began acquiring thousands of acres.