New fence will protect Smokies museum garden
Elk will stay out of the crops at the Mountain Farm Museum following construction of a historically accurate fence funded by a $5,000 Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership grant awarded to Friends of the Smokies.
Elk like to gather in the fields surrounding the museum, which is located next to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but they also like to munch on the crops grown in the demonstration garden. The new “snake-style” fence will prevent the herd from trampling the garden, allowing visitors to see Cherokee heirloom vegetables, Hickory King corn, broomcorn and sorghum.
The fence was made with locust logs and volunteer labor.