Henderson daily dispatch., 1939-07-15
Mt. Mitchell
Road Menaced
By Aninosity
Daily Dispatch Bureau,
LIN the Sir Waiter Hotel

only road leading to the camp site.
And back of those chains is a story
nearly twenty-five years old, but
which has attained accelerated in
terest during the past two or three
months
AS result of the present impasse
in relations among the State De-
partment of Conservation and Deve-
lopment, the State Highway and
Public Works Commission, and the
Big Tom Wilson Mount Mitchell
Road Co., Inc, there is definite like
lihood that the plans for the CCC
camp will be abandoned for this
year at least
The Mount Mitchell Park has be-
longed OF the State of North Caro-
lima since 1915, and it still is mac
cessible to the public except by the
privately owned toll road, or by
foot paths for several miles.
Some years ago the Big Tom Will
son road folks leased a right of way
through the State Park area and
built toll road. Present managing
executive of that road is Ewart O.
Wilson, who has paid few hundred
dollars to the State in rental money
for the right of way With develop
ment of the Mount Mitchell Park
area and enhanced interest in the
adjoining Pisgah National Forest,
along with much greater interest in
nearby Great Smoky National Park
area, Mr.. Wilson thought he had
something good in his toll road.
Then came along the 1899 legis-
lature and enacted law forbidding
operation of a toll road on State
owned or controlled property. The
same rule had long applied to fed
erally-administered lands. The Big
Tom Wilson road lies largely in Fed
eral and State administered areas,
only about 200 yards of the apex of
loop being on property owned by
the Big Tom corporation and other
private interests.
That 200 yards now has the whole
road blocked At the same time,
the fact that other sections of the
road is closed renders that 200 yards
absolutely worthless to its owner.
But on with the story.
When the CCC camp was first pro
posed, agreements were made by the
state, the owners of the private road
and the United States army, that no
tolls would be charged army trucks
and supply cars. A temporary camp
of CCC enrolleeS and several civilian
artisans was established and ground
was cleared for construction of the
permanent camp. Request was made
of Mr.. Wilson by State Park authori-
ties that he close his road to the
public for about one week, so that
the supply and material trucks could
operate, the road being one-way
throughfare. Instead of acceding to
that request Mr.. Wilson advised that
he would impose the regular toll
charge of 81 per vehicle and Csc per
person for all cars or trucks, govern
ment or private owned. And he put
up chains across the road at his
property lines and locked them.
Meantime the road was closed to
traffic in both the national forest
and the State Park sections. Trav-
elers who pay toll to Mr.. Wilson for
use of his road can't get to the
mountain top, even after paying for
the privilege of using the road.
Meantime, such army supply trucks
as must use the road are paying the
toll for running over the 200 yards
of private construction, and charg-
ing it back to the State. Eventually
the State will have to pay the bill.
The matter would be simple if it
weren't for just little bit of jeal-
ousy or something between the high
way department and the State Park
Service. The Highway and Public
Works Commission is the only
agency in the State which can exer-
else the right of eminent domain to
condemn land for road purposes.
And the highway commission just
hasn't done anything about the
Mount Mitchell Situation
It has been suggested that the
highway commission doesn't want to
spend money on a road which the
Federal government is likely to build
in just few years anyway. Such
money as the commission has for
new road work is claimed by more
populous sections of the various dis
tricts.
The park service has tried to buy
the private road from Wilson, but
he wants too much money for it. Re-
ports indicate it has never been very
profitable, and such value as it has
is prospective rather than actual
Meantime, that prospective value is
being deprecated by the present at
titude in holding up development OF
the CCC camp in the park area. It's
almost another illustration of the
various circle.
However, the outlook isn't alto
gether pessimistic. The immediate
problem may speed up solution of
the larger problem. There is almost
certain to be action taken within the
next few days toward removing the
barriers across the road and across
the development plans for the park.
Owners of the private toll road
are likely to receive enough crlti-
cism to force them to do something
about collecting tolls from travellers
and then having to stop the trevel-
ers at the entrance to the park area.
The United States army isn't going
to continue paying tolls for use OF
any road, and will either force solu-
ton of the question or will abandon
their CCC project. And the State
Park Service, which has waited 70
wears for development of what might
easily become one of the most popu-
lar playground sections on the con.
f0 all nf