Group photo on grounds of the Government Indian School, Cherokee, NC

Group photo on grounds of the Government Indian School, Cherokee, NC

Cherokee Indians

Cherokee Indians -- Children

Children

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Portraits, Group

School grounds

Students -- North Carolina -- Cherokee

School buildings

“Doc” Kelly Bennett (1890-1974) took this photograph of a group of boys and one adult having their picture taken on the grounds of the 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. 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)

portraits

eng

StillImage

42548

https://southernappalachiandigitalcollections.org/object/42548

2021-05-21

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

Qualla Boundary

Cherokee (N.C.)

3.5" x 5.75"(dimension)

Picturing Appalachia