A view of the Smokies from upper Kirkland Creek
Kelly Bennett was standing at a little over 3,000 feet elevation when he took this photo from a cornfield near the head of Kirkland Creek, likely in July. The patch he’s standing in was planted after the patch below, which has tassled out and looks to be near maturity. Kirkland Creek empties into the Tuckasegee about a mile and a half upstream of downtown Bryson City, after over a 1,250 foot drop from this location.
Cornfields on hillsides like this were common through the early decades of the 20th century, but I doubt if there are more than a handful – if any – corn patches of any size on this sort of terrain today in not only Swain County, but all of Western North Carolina. This is a testimony to the challenges our forebears were forced to deal with. When one stops to consider what we think are challenges of modern life juxtaposed against the circumstances of making do when this picture was taken, I’m afraid it tells us that we’re a soft, spoiled lot. Lacking the gumption of those gone before.
—Don Casada 4 Jan 2025
Photographer: Kelly Bennett
Date: Circa 1920s
Source: Kelly Bennett Collection, Hunter Library Special Collections
After seeing yesterday’s post, Don sent me this additional information about the photograph. You can also see the photo and information on his wonderful website here.
Don helped facilitate the donation of the Bennett collection of photos to Western Carolina University’s Hunter Library Special Collections. I’m so glad he did!
You can learn more about the Bennett collection as well as other collections Don helped with here.
Last night’s video: I Got a Wild Hair in the Kitchen || Pickled Beets & 2 Cakes!
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
Ammons, I apologize for offending you. I know there were some in my area that had stills and personally know of three, one was busted in the early 60’s. There is an area of northern Greenville County that was once known for moonshiners in the early years of the 1900’s. It is about the same distance -20 miles- from Greenville or Spartanburg. The people living there were unable to get to either city for paying jobs. Their only way of having cash money was by making moonshine. Many of these people were good salt of the earth church going people. One of our best church members was a former moonshiner and was ran out of Oconee County, SC because of the law being so hot on him. I also had a high school teacher that would tell us about his Daddy being a moonshiner and him going with him when he was young. He said his Daddy had the law bought off in three upstate SC countries and never worried about them bothering him. Again, I apologize to you and anyone else I may have offended.