Al Watson Collection
This collection from Al Watson consists of over 1,500 color photographs taken by Watson documenting trails, vistas, and other scenery within the Great Smoky Mountains. Also included are pamphlets, correspondence, reports, and other papers documenting activities of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club as well as other activities related to the Great Smoky Mountains.
The collection has been arranged into two series based on format: Photographs and Papers. The photographs are organized based on the creator's order. Original captions or titles for groups of photographs have been kept when possible and are denoted by quotation marks. The papers have been arranged alphabetically by file title.
A third series was added in 2023 to include roughly 1100 more photographs spanning from 1979-1984. This series is arranged by date of creation. Most photographs are dated and captioned with location, but less than a quarter are either not dated or have no caption.
Dates
- 1934-2018
Conditions Governing Access
Collections are stored offsite, and a minimum of 2 business days are needed to retrieve these items for use. Researchers interested in consulting any of the collections are advised to contact Special Collections.
Conditions Governing Use
The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact Special Collections.
Extent
2.25 Linear Feet (3 half boxes, 3 quarter boxes)
Overview
This collection from Al Watson consists of over 1,500 color photographs taken by Watson documenting trails, vistas, and other scenery within the Great Smoky Mountains. Also included are pamphlets, correspondence, reports, and other papers documenting activities of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club as well as other activities related to the Great Smoky Mountains.
Biographical / Historical
Al Watson was born February 18, 1931. He traveled to the Great Smoky Mountains with an aunt in 1943 and 1944. Watson began taking pictures with a camera his aunt purchased in Paris in 1918 and then began taking pictures with her Brownie 116 of the Great Smoky Mountains when they traveled by taxi to the crest of the park. He returned to the park in 1945 because of the Polio epidemic in Florida and traveled the mountains by Trailways Bus and on foot taking pictures of trails and scenery mostly in Swain County, North Carolina for the next four years until he joined the Army. During and after a long career spent at IBM, Watson retired in 1989. Many of those years he hiked on weekends and took color pictures with a Minolta camera. He hiked alone, with friends, and with the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club. He took his last pictures in 2017 before settling in Huntsville, Alabama.
Arrangement
This collection consists of 6 boxes (3 half boxes and 3 quarter boxes).
Repository Details
Part of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Repository