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April 7, 2007 photo taken at the Cliff Tops on Mount Le Conte in the Great Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee. Photo by Aviator31.

New Tennessee facility to house Smokies artifacts

Catherine Saunders-Watson
Catherine Saunders-Watson
April 7, 2007 photo taken at the Cliff Tops on Mount Le Conte in the Great Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee. Photo by Aviator31.
April 7, 2007 photo taken at the Cliff Tops on Mount Le Conte in the Great Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, Tennessee. Photo by Aviator31.

TOWNSEND, Tenn. (AP) – The Great Smoky Mountains National Park wants to build a new warehouse in Townsend to hold park artifacts.

Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson told the Townsend City Commission the collection includes archives, photos, items from original homesteads and other artifacts.

The Daily Times in Maryville reported the National Park Service plans to build a 12,000-square-foot, climate-controlled building to house the collection.

The building will not be a museum, but a place where people researching life in the mountains or doing genealogical research could view the artifacts.

The collection is currently stored in an Oak Ridge warehouse and the basement of the Sugarlands Visitors Center in the park.

The government has approved $1.5 million for planning and design.

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Information from: The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-CS-10-25-10 0401EDT