Fontana Village with crowd outside cafeteria

Fontana Village with crowd outside cafeteria

Automobiles

Buildings

Cafeterias

City and town life

Events

Fontana Dam (N.C.)

Transportation

Winter

This image of a crowd gathered in front of the cafeteria in Fontana Village was taken by “Doc” Kelly Bennett (1890-1974). From 1942-1945, Fontana Village was inhabited by individuals and families from across the United States who were involved with the construction of Fontana Dam, a Tennessee Valley Authority project. For a time, the cafeteria served over 6,000 meals per day. Bennett was 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.

Bennett, Kelly, 1890-1974

Kelly Bennett Collection

Hunter Library Digital Collections, Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC 28723

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/

jpg;

negatives (photographs)

eng

StillImage

42033

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/42033

2021-05-20

All rights reserved. For permissions, contact Hunter Library Special Collections, Western Carolina U, Cullowhee, NC 28723;

Swain County (N.C.)

North Carolina, Western

3.5" x 5.75"(dimension)

Picturing Appalachia