Government Indian School, Cherokee, NC

Government Indian School, Cherokee, NC

Agriculture

Mountains

School buildings

This north facing view up the Oconaluftee Valley shows an overview of the grounds of Government Indian School on the Qualla Boundary. The school began as a boarding and day school in 1884 and was operated by the Society of Friends (Quakers) until 1896 when it came under the direct supervision of the federal government. It changed from a boarding to a day school in 1954. The 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.

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

42539

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/42539

2021-05-21

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

Qualla Boundary

North Carolina, Western

3.5" x 5.75"(dimension)

Picturing Appalachia