Anne May was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1875 and married Willis Davis in 1902. In 1915 the couple and their two daughters moved to Knoxville, where he managed Knoxville Iron Co., she promoted conservation and environmental issues and both came to appreciate the Smoky Mountains, to the extent that Anne Davis began to wonder out loud why there were many national parks in the west, but only Maine’s Arcadia in the eastern U.S.
This appreciation of Anne Davis’ work toward establishment of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a chapter from Michael Aday’s “Letters from the Smokies,” published in 2023 by the Great Smoky Mountains Association. Our appreciation to GSMA for permission to reprint it here.
Gov. Austin Peay signed the legislation authorizing the purchase of Little River Company land. Left to right: Jeff Hunt, acting secretary to the governor; Speaker of the Senate Judge L. D. Hill; Representative Anne Davis; Gov. Peay; Mary Virginia Cox of the governor’s office; Representative W. B. Hatcher; and Speaker of the House W. F. Barry, Jr.
The story of Anne Davis’ role in helping to establish Great Smoky Mountains National Park appears simple on the surface, but the reality is more complex. Her handwritten note describes its beginning: “It was in July 1923, and we were returning from a western business trip and had just visited Yellowstone National Park. I remarked that I thought the Great Smokies were as beautiful as any mountains we had seen in the west and I thought that with so many parks in the west there should be one in the east.”
In 1925, Anne Davis was elected to office, defeating nine male candidates. She was the first woman sent to [Tennessee] state legislature from Knox County and only the third in the entire state to serve since the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Her husband Willis agreed, and on returning to Knoxville, Tennessee, began to garner support from both the local business community and his contacts in Washington.
Anne and Willis Davis were natives of Louisville, Kentucky, who moved to Knoxville in 1915 when Willis took over management of the Knoxville Iron Company. Willis was an influential local businessman and civic leader, belonging to the Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and the Knoxville Automobile Club, and was well-connected in Washington. Anne was equally civic-minded, being an early member of the Knoxville League of Women Voters and the Knoxville Garden Club. They were a power team and, together, advanced the park’s cause at the local, state and national levels.
In 1924, Davis announced her intention to run for the state legislature in order to support the effort to establish a national park in Southern Appalachia. In 1925, she was elected to office, defeating nine male candidates. Davis was the first woman sent to the legislature from Knox County and only the third in the entire state to serve since the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Davis rode a wave of progressive change into office, and once there she threw her support behind Governor Austin Peay, who had made the establishment of a national park in the Smokies one of his campaign promises for his 1923 election. Davis sponsored the legislation that would purchase more than 78,000 acres of land from the Little River Lumber Company—the kernel that would eventually become the park.
Garnering support for the bill was an uphill struggle. Representatives from western and middle Tennessee were reluctant to spend money on land in the eastern end of the state. In addition, the timber industry was lobbying hard for a national forest instead of a park. Davis worked closely with Peay to find a solution to the impasse.
She convinced the legislature to go into recess so that a fact-finding trip could be made to the mountains—a key event that solidified support for the bill. None of the legislators who attended the trip had been to the Smokies before, and they were “amazed to find these wonderful mountains” in their state.
Knoxville mayor Ben Morton convinced the city council to pay one third of the purchase price of the Little River Lumber Company land, an unheard-of contribution by a municipal entity. It was the deciding factor in gaining the support of western and middle Tennessee lawmakers and ensured the legislation’s passage.
Anne Davis’ primary motivation in running for the state legislature may have been to help establish the park, but she also supported bills that benefited underserved members of the population, primarily women and children. While in office, Davis approved the formation of a domestic relations court in Knox County and reformed juvenile court laws. She introduced a bill for women to serve on grand juries and petit juries. She worked on legislation establishing the right of women to serve on county school boards and as factory inspectors—and granting married women property rights equal to those of single women.
Her work in the senate uplifted her constituency and helped establish the most visited national park in the United States. After leaving office, she was elected president of the Knoxville chapter of the League of Women Voters and, through that position, proposed legislation that built on her work in the senate. Her impact endures.
Telegram from Willis P. Davis to his wife, Anne, congratulating her on the passage of the legislation she introduced.
For years, Davis’ contributions to the formation of the park were overshadowed by those of her husband and other prominent men in the movement. A ridge in the park is named in her honor, but some feel that commemoration through a minor geographic feature undervalues her considerable achievement.
One person who fully appreciated her effort at the time, though, was Governor Peay. Not only did he invite Davis to attend the signing of the legislation that approved the purchase of Little River Lumber Company land, the governor also presented her with the ostrich-quill pen he used to sign the bill.
Want More Smokies’ History?
This story is an excerpted chapter from “Letters from the Smokies,” by Michael Aday with [his wife] Denise Aday. The book’s 160 pages tell 19 stories covering early documents (1785-1879), the pre-park-formation years (1924-1930) and chronicles of a young Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1935-1968), all accompanied by telling photographs and graphics. Michael Aday is the park’s librarian-archivist.
Proceeds from sales of the book go to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to support projects and services.
For more information or to purchase a copy of the book, please go to smokiesinformation.org/product/letters-from-the-smokies/
The story above first appeared in our March / April 2024 issue. For more like it subscribe today or log in with your active BRC+ Membership. Thank you for your support!