| Sources |
- [S74] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume IV, 1987-1999, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 7 Dec 1999.
Grace Irene Grossman Stupka obituary
- [S106] The Mountain Press, 15 Nov 2015.
Upland Chronicles: Charles Grossman preserved Smokies artifacts
CARROLL MCMAHAN
One of the most comprehensive collections of Appalachian pioneer artifacts is stored in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park archives. Much of the collection owes to two men who had the foresight to scoop up items from families living in the park at the time of its creation.
In the earliest days of the park, residents were selling out and moving at a very fast rate. Financially crippled by the Great Depression and years of poor soil conservation practices, most of them gladly took their money and ran.
Hiram Wilburn and Charles Grossman traveled around the hills and hollows visiting the people being removed from their homesteads to make way for the new park. Grossman documented more than 1,700 structures within the park boundaries during the 1930s and 1940s.
Born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 3, 1900, Charles Souder Grossman was a graduate of Walker Trade School in Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in architecture. On March 27, 1926, he married Grace Irene Rehrer of Philadelphia. They had three daughters: Ruth (Simpson), Betty (Heazel) and Barbara (Scheel).
Grossman went to work for Simon & Simon, a Philadelphia architecture firm that specialized in public and commercial buildings. Later, he worked for Paul Phillipe Cret when Cret was working on the Folger Shakespeare Library project in Washington, D.C.
Since he was the last hired, when the building decline brought on by the Great Depression started, Grossman was the first furloughed. He took a position as a teacher in a vocational school.
Under the auspices of Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, Grossman was recruited by the National Park Service in 1934 to come to the Smokies to establish a program to preserve the remaining buildings that had historical and architectural significance.
Although Grossman was zealous, he had a huge disadvantage; he could not drive. Having lived most of his life riding on public transportation in Philadelphia, he had never bothered to learn to drive a car and obtain a driver's license.
At the time he arrived, the Civilian Conservation Corps program was underway in the park, with vehicles traveling daily throughout the mountains. Grossman coordinated his inspection trips with CCC schedules so he could hitch a ride until he learned to drive himself.
Poking about recently abandoned home sites was a dream come true for Grossman. His primary focus was buildings, but he also was interested in farm tools and primitive implements. However, there was no master plan, no designated collecting depository, and no guidelines as to what should be collected.
Hiram C. Wilburn was the unofficial park historian, and he and Grossman were charged with a massive undertaking. But Grossman was delighted, because he enjoyed discovering and identifying old relics.
Grossman kept pocket notebooks in which he sketched and documented everything he found interesting. The volume and scope of his photographs are amazing. Grossman was only allowed three rolls of film per month, which had to be mailed to the Regional Office in Richmond, Virginia, for processing.
Because he spent most of his time on historic preservation, Grossman wrote a 28-page book, "Study for the Preservation of Mountain Culture," for Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The 1937 report highlighted the results of the historic buildings survey and advocated for a policy or program to preserve the wealth of material before it was destroyed or lost. He concluded that much could be learned about pioneer life from studying its material culture.
In addition to dwelling houses, Grossman documented barns, springhouses and corn cribs as well as tub mills, smokehouses and other structures. He advocated for preserving mountain heritage. Unfortunately, in an effort to keep out squatters, many structures had already been demolished before he arrived. Some were deemed fire hazards, and others came down simply because the park service did not have the funds available to stabilize them.
The historic interpretive structures at Cades Cove and the Occonaluftee Mountain Farm Museum exist today primarily due to the efforts of Grossman and Wilburn.
When the CCC program was shut down in 1943, the Smokies had an invaluable collection. However, Grossman's efforts were not universally appreciated. In fact, some people called him "Charlie the Junkman."
Later, he took the civil service exam and was hired by the Department of Interior. According to his daughter, Betty Heazel of Gwynn Oak, Maryland, he was given a position as landscape architect for the Bureau of Roads.
While in this position, Grossman was responsible for preserving farm buildings that were placed in interpretive museums such as Johnson Farm near the Peaks of Otter. His achievements also include preservation work in Philadelphia on Elfreth's Alley, America's oldest residential street, as well as the restoration of Independence Hall.
When Grossman retired, he returned to his beloved Smoky Mountains, built a new home in Pigeon Forge and served as a consultant to historic preservation groups. He was a charter member of Our Savior Lutheran Church and served on the church council and as chairman of the building committee.
Charles Grossman died Monday, Oct. 4, 1971, at age 71.He is buried in Smoky Mountain Memory Gardens.
Work is underway on the new NPS Collections Preservation Center, a facility to preserve more than 400,000 artifacts and 1.3 million archival records documenting the history of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and four other NPS areas in East Tennessee. The 14,000 square-foot facility is being built in Townsend on land adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center and is scheduled to open in 2016.
At last, there will be a facility to properly store and display artifacts collected by Grossman over seven decades ago.
Carroll McMahan is special projects facilitator for the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce and serves as Sevier County historian.
The Upland Chronicles series celebrates the heritage and past of Sevier County. If you have suggestions for future topics, would like to submit a column or have comments, contact Carroll McMahan at 453-6411 or cmcmahan@scoc.org; or Ron Rader at 604-9161 or ron@ronraderproperties.com.
- [S75] Atchley Funeral Home Records, Volume II, 1955-1973, Larry D. Fox, (Smoky Mountain Historical Society), 4 Oct 1971.
Grossman, Charles Souder 71 b. 10-3-00 PA d. 10-4-71 Knox Bapt Hosp after 30 years retired architect National Park f. Jacob H m. Laura Souder SMMG Survivors: widow Grace Rehrer R4 Sev 3 dau Mrs Ruth Simpson Sev Mrs Betty Heazel Severna Park MD Mrs Barbara Scheel Wayne MI 10 gc.
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