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 Cades
Cove is one of those "must do's" that are associated with Smoky
Mountain National Park. A "cove" is a flat valley between mountains.
Cades Cove is just such a place on the west side of the National Park
showcasing some of the most inspiring natural and cultural treasures that
the Southern Appalachian Mountains have to offer.
You visit Cades Cove by taking a "tour." Most people drive
the eleven mile loop in their car, stopping at interesting places, but
a hayride is available a few times a week. The best time to visit is an
hour or so before sunset. During the summer, you should get there at about
6:00 p.m. This is when the animals come out to feed and although Cades
Cove is one of the best wildlife watching spots in the park, dusk is the
premium time.
 Expect
to see wildlife ranging from wild horses, deer, wild turkeys and maybe
even black bears. You will also see ruins for a distant life including
churches, graveyards and log cabins. In the late 19th Century, Cades Cove
was a farming community. At the John Oliver Place you will hike for ¾
mile to see on of over 70 historic buildings in the park. In this log
cabin an entire family lived. Exact arrangements differed from family
to family, but usually the parents, infants and daughters slept on the
first floor while the sons slept in the loft. His son, Elijah, build the
Elijah Oliver Place for his family before the Civil War. During that time
there were more buildings needed for living than in modern day. With no
refrigerator or freezer, they needed the springhouse to keep the milk
and butter cook, the smokehouse to store and preserve meat for an entire
year, and the corn crib to store enough corn to last until the next harvest.
They also needed a barn to shelter their animals. You can see all these
buildings at Elijah's place.
 Some
of the earliest settlers established the Primitive Baptish Church in 1827
where some of their graves still lie today. A group of Baptists expelled
from the primitive Baptish Church because they favored missionary work
formed the Missionary Baptist Church in 1839. The church building visitors
may now see was built in 1915 and was used until it closed in 1944. J.D.
McCampbell, a blacksmith and a carpenter, built the Methodist Church in
115 days for $115 and served for many years as its minister. Methodists
were not as numerous as Baptists in the Cove, but there were enough to
get together and establish the church in the 1820s which stood until the
current on replaced it in 1902.
Further down the road is the cable mil area which contains a blacksmith
shop, cantilver barn, millrace and dam, a cable mill, smokehouse, corn
crib, barn, sorghum mill and the Gregg-Cable House, all wonderfully preserved.
Wander through the area and imagine what life in the "cove"
must have been like.
See
the Slideshow!
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