Barber McMurry and the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club

The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club’s founding hike to the top of Mount LeConte, October 1924. From left to right: Charlie Barber, Frank Wilson, Baxter Gass, Guy Barber, Charlie Kane, Charlie Lester, Marshall Wilson, Louise Smith, Caesar Stair, Douglas Smith, Besse Geagley, George Barber Jr., W.H. McCroskey, Carlos Campbell, and T.S. McKinney. Jim Thompson was the photographer.

In October 1924, Charlie and West organized a hike to Mt. LeConte in October 1924, in partnership with George Jr., who was Physical Director at the YMCA in Knoxville. They hacked their way through the trackless back country to reach the summit. 

The next week, the group established the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club — which raised awareness in support of establishing a national park to protect the Southern Appalachian Mountains. 

Marshall Wilson later said, “While resting there on Cliff Top we all agreed that experiences such as we were having were magnificent and soul-stirring, and that we should share them with many others. We agreed that the best thing we could do to further the establishment of this primitive area as a National Park would be the sponsoring of more and more hiking trips into the Smokies, inviting any person who would be interested but especially those whose political and civic influence would help the Park movement.”

George Jr. was the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club’s first president. 

President Calvin Coolidge authorized the park’s establishment in 1926, but Congress didn’t authorize development of public facilities until 1934, after Tennessee and North Carolina transferred more than 300,000 acres of mountain land to the federal government. SMHC was instrumental in advocating for the park with Tennessee congressmen and federal officials, including officials from the Department of the Interior.

In addition to the Barbers, other members of SMHC included Harvey Broome, Carlos Campbell, Dutch Roth, Paul Fink, and Jim Thompson, Laura Thornburgh, Paul Adams, Col. David Chapman, Brockway Crouch, and Benton Mackaye. 

Barber McMurry designed the Club’s cabin, which was completed in 1936.

SMHC’s first leaflet, published in 1926, proclaimed, “Plans have been made for erecting a club house at some central point in the Great Smokies. The building is being designed by Charles I. Barber, one of Knoxville’s leading architects, and will be built by the club during vacation season.” 

The vacationing construction volunteers provided feedback on the design: “The two cabins are at split levels, and one is offset in order to provide a porch. It was quite a job, without any blueprint from the noted architect, to start each cabin at the proper foundation level, have the fireplaces at floor levels, and get the roof set properly over both cabins."

The cabin is still accessible on the Greenbrier Trail near Gatlinburg. 

The Smoky Mountains Hiking Club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2024, continuing to organize hikes, promote conservation, and perform maintenance within the Park.