When the Government was buying the land that would eventually become the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, records were being kept about properties acquired. As the properties were identified, a 5x8-index card was made containing information about the property as to what was on the site when they bought the property. Some of the cards have quite a bit of information, and some have very little; they do however give some insight as to how our ancestors lived. The cards do not tell who was living in the houses, or what families were living on the property at the time it was bought.