Great Smoky Mountains - Day 2

We awoke to bright sunshine yesterday and were pleased that this day at the park would be warmer and sunnier. Sunday night we needed to move Allie to a different site, because the one we were in was previously booked for the upcoming week. We could have moved in the morning, but decided to "git 'er done," before bedtime. By the time we finished, it was 10 pm, but so glad we didn't need to take all that time before heading out to the park.

So, for now and until we leave here on Friday morning, we are in site 165, which is a nice back-in, full hook-up, 50 amp and partially shaded site.

Allie and Sir Duke are quite comfortable and Lucy loves looking out the windows at the bird, canine and human population.

Yesterday was Day 2 at Great Smoky Mountain National Park and we have yet to get the opportunity to snap a photo of the official park entrance sign. We were informed at the first Visitors' Center that Cades Cove was a "must see," and it more than lived up to that claim. I would highly recommend any visitor to make this a priority on their list of things do in the park. Be sure to allow a full day of driving and hiking to see it all.

We were afforded peaceful pastures, wildflower-filled hills and valleys, original 19th Century buildings (and some reproductions) where the first Euro-American settlers came to make their homes among the Cherokee. We learned the names of the first settlers - the Olivers, Lequires, Shields, Tiptons, Sparks, and Lawsons. Many of them are buried in one of the the church cemeteries located in the Cove. 

I thought it interesting that for such a small area and population that three churches were necessary, but ethics and politics caused the residents to split into three religious groups. 

The very first church built in 1827 was a log building called Primitive Baptist Church. Church meetings ceased during the Civil War and politics split the congregation into two factions afterward - the original Baptists and the Missionary Baptists. The church depicted below is the one that replaced the original in 1887. 

The original Methodist Church, a log cabin, was built in 115 days for $115 back in the early 1820s. It stood and served its followers until it was replaced with the current church in 1902. 

Some Methodist Churches split the seating of their congregation by gender, which explains the double door entrance, but this particular church didn't. They only borrowed the building plans for another Methodist Church. A graveyard lies behind this church as well.

Original headstone for John and Lurena Oliver, two of the first settlers in the Cove.

The original Baptist Church followers split over ethics and the original Baptist Church was re-named "Primitive Baptist Church" and the new church built in 1839 was called the "Missionary Baptist Church." The photo below is of the second church that was built in 1915. Its doors closed in 1944, but family of the original Cove residents have continued to be buried here.

The oldest building in the Cove is the John Oliver House, built in 1826. It contained a "great room" on the first floor and a sleeping area above. It is located in a peaceful valley. The house boasts a split-log construction with "dove-tail" corners and hand-made shingles. 

I couldn't imagine the energy, strength and guts it took to construct a home in the middle of Native American land. These people were true pioneers. I feel guilty now for complaining when I was waiting for cable to be hooked up last time I moved.

 

 

Original home with a section added behind to enlarge.

 

This photo shows the addition behind the original log home.

Elijah Oliver, the son of John, build his home a few miles down the road just after the Civil War. His property had more buildings and were constructed slightly different. There was a spring house for milk and butter, a smokehouse for meats, a corn crib, and a barn. Water was carried from the spring for drinking and bathing.

 

Smokehouse (foreground) restored, corn crib replica.

We passed the Tipton family property with all the buildings for a working farm. Although the corncribs, barn and smokehouse are reproductions, the log cabin is the original from the early 1870s and appeared to be a smaller version of the Elijah Oliver home.

My favorite house was built by George Washington "Carter" Shields. The location, style and layout would have been a lovely place to spend my days. I thought of my son, Glenn, and pictured him loving it as much as I did.

You can see where an addition was made after lumber was available.

Low ceilings helped to keep the home warm in winter. G wondered where the TV would have gone.

The huge upstairs sleeping area.

The side door looks out to a lush green lawn and forest beyond.

We saw the sad reminders of a hard life - many infants and young children were buried in all of the cemeteries. One mother lost three infants within 4 years. All three grave markers read "Infant daughter, budded on earth, bloomed in heaven," along with the date. Many years later, the parents were eventually laid to rest, followed by the siblings and their families. 

We saw delicate butterflies. We heard many different bird sounds. We "heard" silence.

We saw determination, strength and perseverance from what remains on the land and what lies below in the Cove.

Butterflies, pastures, valleys, mountains and blue skies.

 

Deep thought for the day:  Look back just long enough to see from where you have come in order to appreciate the direction in which you are headed today.  ~ vc