Despite the rainy weather, we enjoyed each others company, had good food -- Wild Wing Cafe, Chaz Guevara, and Cosmo's Caffe at Gourmet Market, saw The Muppets, played in the play area at one of the malls, took a walk at a local park, and explored Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park :)
As we were looking into things to do on Saturday morning, we came across Cades Cove {about 50 miles east of Knoxville} and decided to go check it out, seeing that it was so close and one of the most popular destinations in the Great Smokies.
So beautiful!
It started raining as we drove into the park, but luckily it only rained for about 30 minutes and then stopped until we were headed back to Knoxville ... this is the little guy being silly in the car as we arrived :) He is styling in his shades and headphones!!
For a little of the background story of Cades Cove: The Cove attracted the Cherokee Indian Nation due to its abundant wildlife and good hunting. They camped and hunted in the Cove for weeks, perhaps months, at a time; however, there is no evidence that Cherokee villages ever existed in the Cove. Later, the wildlife at Cades Cove drew European descent frontiersmen {the first settlers arrived in 1821} to make it their home. They and their offspring cleared the fertile valley floor and built farms to sustain them. The pioneer's families as well as lots of new families, lived in Cades Cove for many generations before it became part of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park {around the 1930s}. Today, the Cove has been preserved to look much the way it did in the 1800s.There is an 11-mile, one-way loop road through the Cove, which follows many of the grades and turns of the old wagon roads. Along the way there are historic buildings, including rustic log homes of original residents of the Cove, several churches, an old mill, molasses making equipment, and cemeteries AND an abundance of wildlife {lots of deer and wild turkey}!
Here are some of the things we came across on our adventure through Cades Cove ...
Primitive Baptist Church
Some of the earliest settlers established this church in 1827. A log building served their needs until this one replaced it in 1887.
Methodist Church
J.D. McCampbell, a blacksmith and carpenter, built this church in 1902 in 115 days for $115. He later served many years as its minister. The church has 2 front doors, which usually
indicates the church follows the custom of men sitting on
one side and women on the other, but this church didn't follow that custom. They just borrowed the building plans
from another church that did :)
indicates the church follows the custom of men sitting on
one side and women on the other, but this church didn't follow that custom. They just borrowed the building plans
from another church that did :)
Missionary Baptist Church
A group of Baptists, expelled from the Primitive
Baptist Church because they favored missionary work,
formed this church in 1839.
Baptist Church because they favored missionary work,
formed this church in 1839.
The lovely scenery!
A few of the many deer we encountered :)
Cable Mill Area
{The grist mill is on its original site, but the other historical buildings in this complex were brought from elsewhere in the Cove.}
The cane mill and sorghum furnace,
which were used to make molasses.
which were used to make molasses.
The Gregg-Cable House was built {and enlarged from time to time} by Leason Gregg in 1879, using lumber sawed at the Cable mill.
It is believed to be the first all-frame house in the Cove.
Rebecca Cable bought the house from Gregg in 1887.
Aunt Becky, as she was known, lived a long and successful life in
the Cove ... she died in 1940 at the age of 96!
It is believed to be the first all-frame house in the Cove.
Rebecca Cable bought the house from Gregg in 1887.
Aunt Becky, as she was known, lived a long and successful life in
the Cove ... she died in 1940 at the age of 96!
This type of barn, with the drive-through in the
center and the stalls on each side, was more popular in East
Tennessee than the cantilever barn.
center and the stalls on each side, was more popular in East
Tennessee than the cantilever barn.
This is a corn crib -- a place to store corn with cracks between the logs to allow air circulation to dry the corn. Corn was the most important crop in the Cove.
John P. Cable, Aunt Becky's father, built a water-powered grist mill and sawmill in about 1870. The same wheel provided power for both mills. A son, James V. Cable, inherited the mill and operated it well into the twentieth century. Today it is operated by the Great Smoky Mountains Association as a historical exhibit.
There were "monies" in the wooden flume!
Ryan had fun jumping in ALL the puddles,
despite our efforts to keep him out of them :)
despite our efforts to keep him out of them :)
Mill Creek
LeQuire Cantilever Barn ... the overhang provided shelter for animals, as well as storage for farm equipment. The cantilever construction originated centuries ago in Europe.
A male deer with his full-grown antlers ...
he was grazing right by the road!
he was grazing right by the road!
One of the many cemeteries.
Dan Lawson Place
Dan Lawson built this house in 1856. The original house of hewn logs was built before sawmills came to the Cove, but sawed lumber was later used in additions and maintenance.
The brick chimney, unusual for the time and locale,
was built of bricks made on site.
was built of bricks made on site.
Tipton Place
"Col. Hamp" Tipton, who served in the Mexican War, had this house built in the early 1870s.
Carter Shields Cabin
George Washington "Carter" Shields, crippled for life
in the Battle of Shiloh, bought this property in 1910,
and lived here 11 years before leaving the Cove.
in the Battle of Shiloh, bought this property in 1910,
and lived here 11 years before leaving the Cove.
We got to drive across a ford on Sparks Lane --
one of two roads in the Cove in addition to Loop Road.
It is named for a widely known Cades Cove family.
Note: the historical information herein was taken from the "Cades Cove Tour" booklet that we picked up for $1 as we entered the Cove :)
one of two roads in the Cove in addition to Loop Road.
It is named for a widely known Cades Cove family.
