Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

The Smoky Mountains were named after the

smoky haze found on the hilltops and valleys

caused by water vapor.

 

 

This 525,000 acre mountain wilderness attracts 10 million people each year.

 

 

A 4,000 acre valley known as Cades Cove can be

visited by driving a 11 mile loop road.

 

 

 

Settlers came to this valley in 1819 from Virginia and later North Carolina. The peak population was 685 people in 137 households.

 

John Oliver's place was the first one to be built in 1826.

 

 

Note the construction detail.  Log ends were notched

at an outward angle to drain water and prevent rotting.

 

 

Foundation corners were supported with stacked rocks.

 

 

 

Field stone was collected for chimney.

 

 

Cades Cove is home to three churches. 

The Primitive Baptist Church, Methodist Church and 

the Missionary Baptist Church was formed in 1839.

 

 

The Elijah Oliver house had a "stranger room" added

to the front porch to accommodate overnight visitors.

 

 

The John P. Cable Grist Mill is on it's original site.

 

 

Note how the grinding wheels were carved out of solid rock.

 

 

The LeQuire cantilever barn.  The overhang provided

shelter for animals and storage space for farm equipment. The

cantilever construction originated centuries ago in Europe.

 

 

The Dan Lawson house was built in 1856.  The brick chimney, unusual for

the time and place, was built of bricks made on the site.