A pair of programs about Horace Kephart, an adopted son of the Smokies who captured the culture of mountaineers in the early 1900s in writing and championed the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, will explore the life of this giant of Smoky Mountain history at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 28, at the Western Office of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources in Asheville. 

Naturalist and historian George Ellison, a columnist for The Smoky Mountain News who hails from Bryson City, will give a talk titled “A Room of One’s Own,” looking at the places in WNC most closely associated with Kephart.

Kephart’s great-granddaughter Libby Kephart Hargrave will present “Horace Kephart: His Way Back,” taking an intimate look into the life of Kephart and discussing his wife Laura, his parents and his children. 

The traveling exhibit “Horace Kephart in the Great Smoky Mountains,” created by the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University, will be on hand for visitors to view afterward. The free exhibit will be available at the office weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through June 30. 

Free, with RSVP required. 828.296.7230, ext. 221 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..