Some families were given two weeks' notice to vacate farms that had been their homes for generations; others had settled there after being evicted to make way for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1920s or the Norris Dam in the 1930s.
Nogle familier fik to ugers frist til at rømme landbrug, som havde været deres hjem i generationer, mens andre havde bosat sig der efter at være blevet tvangsfjernet for at give plads til Great Smoky Mountains National Park i 1920'erne eller Norris Dam i 1930'erne.