Bryson City

By Don Casada and Jim Casada

Bryson City is a small town with an exceptional heritage. It nestles snugly in the bosom of North Carolina's portion of the Great Smokies with northward views featuring the main spine of the Appalachian Mountains.

Southward, the Alarka range embraces it. Situated in bottomlands along the westward-flowing Tuckasegee River, Bryson City is Swain County's seat and sole incorporated town. Always small, it is today home to roughly 1,500 people. The town and county, now economically reliant on tourism, have always struggled because of geographical limitations; a low tax base because over 80 percent of the land is government owned; and, once the logging era ended, having little in the way of valuable natural resources. Set against those limitations are rare scenic beauty, delightful climate, and people with a deep love of place and pride for their homeland.

These pages, adorned by a treasure trove of images mostly taken by local photographers who are buried in the Bryson City Cemetery, offer a visual historical record of a special place and its inhabitants. Fittingly, Friends of the Bryson City Cemetery played a pivotal role in saving these photographs for posterity. Like the photographers, Don Casada and Jim Casada grew up in Bryson City. It has always been the home of their hearts. Don is a retired engineer who brings an engineer's mindset to his study of area history, shared on www.mymountainfolks.com, while brother Jim writes a nostalgic column for the local newspaper and is the author of several books on the region.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1467163899
• ISBN13: 9781467163897
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
• Length: 128 Pages