Passage IV

George Masa and the Smoky Mountains

Masa Knob, a densely forested peek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, isn’t as majestic a park attraction as Clingmans Dome or Laurel Falls. It’s a humble landmark named for a man who tirelessly explored, documented, and fought to protect and would become the most visited national park in the United States.

Japanese immigrant, lizuka Masahara, adopted the name George Masa in 1915, when he took a job as a bellman at an upscale hotel in Asheville, North Carolina. He often took pictures of hotel guests. Masa’s photos depict prosperous vacations, some enjoying hikes organized by Masa himself. Three years after settling in Asheville, which was when Masa opened a photography studio.

The fog-shrouded mountains surrounding Asheville frequently lured Masa, with heavy, unwieldy camera equipment in tow, out of the studio he’d opened in Asheville. Morning hikes became weeks-long expeditions. To get the perfect shot, Masa would scale the highest mountains, lugging his equipment on his back. He sometimes waited hours for the clouds to arrange themselves to his liking before he took a picture.

Masa’s measuring instruments were innovative. Using an odometer mounted on the detached front end of a bicycle, Masa measured his routes. He pushed the contraption across the steep terrain, hiking and measuring, measuring and hiking, year after year. From these measurements, he produced detailed maps.

Masa made it his mission to ensure that the land he treasured would be preserved as a national park. He gave his photos and maps to prominent Asheville visitors, recruiting First Lady Grace Coolidge and wealthy philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr., among others, to join the park campaign. In reality, to build support from the wider public, Masa distributed thousands of postcards of his photos.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established in 1934, a year after Masa’s death. Although not many park visitors climb Masa Knob or know about it’s namesake and advocate, I think they should.