Pre 1900's - 1920's | 1930's |1940's |1950's |1960's | 1970's |1980's |1990's | 2000's

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In October of 1939 the first ranger-led programs were organized for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The programs provided covered a wide range of topics such as wildflowers and birds, and went many places such as Laurel Falls and Mt. LeConte. None of the programs focused on the cultural heritage of the area though, a tradition that would continue throughout many years of program schedules. Although plans for a museum featuring the cultural aspects of the Smokies were in the works not long after the park was established in 1934, it was not until the early 50s that the park would begin a project that would assemble the park’s first permanent cultural exhibit.

In 1952 several structures from plots all over the park were selected to be moved to their new homes near the Oconaluftee Ranger Station (now Visitor Center). This process began with meticulous photo documentation of the structures so that they could be easily reassembled. The buildings were then disassembled piece by piece and moved to what would soon be known as the Pioneer Farmstead.

The buildings including; a farm house, Chicken House, two corn cribs one with a gear shed, meat house, apple house, blacksmith shop, spring house and barn, were assembled and opened in the spring of 1953 as the Pioneer Farmstead. Since the 50s both the arrangement and the name of the exhibit has changed, but the Mountain Farm Museum still serves the same purpose.

The collection of buildings offers the public a chance to see, touch and feel the types of buildings that might have been found on a typical mountain farm. Although the Davis-Queen house, chosen for its excellently preserved log construction, does not depict what would have been the typical housing for this time period in the Smokies (most people lived in frame houses, often with 2 stories), it still provides an excellent place to teach visitors about living in the Smokies in pre-park days.

The Mountain Farm Museum is still a part of the Resource Education programs in the park, with costumed interpreters and rangers and volunteers teaching visitors about farm life almost daily during the summer and fall. There are also several special programs at the Mountain Farm Museum each year. Women’s Work in late spring and the Mountain Life Festival in fall are both all day events, with demonstrators doing traditional mountain crafts, making foodstuffs and playing music. To learn more about programs at the Mountain Farm Museum please visit.