Question: Why was Clingmans Dome originally named in honor of Thomas L. Clingman?
Answer: After Thomas L. Clingman of Asheville was expelled as a U.S. Senator for supporting the Confederacy during the Civil War, he became a Confederate Commander. Following the war, he explored and surveyed the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Even though he and Elisha Mitchell disagreed on mountain heights in the area, Clingman’s earlier measurements were later affirmed by geographer Arnold Guyot, who named the peak Clingmans Dome in honor of Clingman’s work surveying and promoting the region’s mountains.
