The Derris Slide Collection is composed of approximately 4400 slides from the 1940's through the 1960's of the Great Smoky Mountains region of Tennessee. William Derris was an amateur photographer and owner of the Derris Motel (later the Laughing Horse Inn) in Townsend, Tennessee, which he photographed at length and used the slides of those photographs in a slide show for the entertainment of his guests.

The slides are arranged alphabetically by topic. The collection's originator identified these topical series and they have been maintained. Approximately ninety percent of the individual slides were previously marked with indicators and specific information regarding the content of the slide by Derris.