1950: The Cherokee drama, Unto These Hills, sponsored by the Cherokee Historical Association opens in Cherokee beginning its 50+ year run.
> Unto These Hills Info
1951: The first annual Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage is held in Gatlinburg in partnership with the UT Botany Dept. and the Gatlinburg Garden Club.
> Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage1952: Visitation exceeds 2 million for the first time.
1953: The Great Smoky Mountains Association is started to help support the park. The association provides demonstrations, funds renovations and building projects, funds research projects, employs a full-time park librarian, and most notably publishes high quality park literature and maps that are sold along with other publications, educational gifts, toys and food stuffs in the park bookstores.
> GSMA Web Site
1953: The Mountain Farm Museum (Pioneer Farmstead) is assembled in the Oconaluftee Valley.
>The Mountain Farm Museum
> Plan your visit
1954: Walt Disney visits the park during the filming of the Davy Crockett series at the Pioneer Farmstead (now the Mountain Farm Museum).
>The Mountain Farm Museum
1956: President Eisenhower approves a sweeping NPS development program titled Mission 66, focused primarily on restoring slowly deteriorating National Parks all over the U.S.
>Mission 66
1956: Howard Zahniser, then executive secretary of The Wilderness Society, drafts (with the help of early park advocate Harvey Broome) the Wilderness Act.
> Wilderness Movement in the Smokies
> The Wilderness Society
Oct. 4, 1957: Mrs. Willis P. Davis, one of the early Park advocates, passes away at her home in Gatlinburg.
1959: The current concrete tower at Clingmans Dome, a project on Mission 66 is completed, replacing the original wooden structure built by the CCC.
> Mission 66
> Clingmans Dome
