Cades Cove - Great Smoky Mountains National Park (TN)
Read MoreJohn Oliver Place (ca. 1820's)
John Oliver and his family moved to Cades Cove in the late-1810's and built this cabin when he acquired the property for himself. All framing, wall beams, and roofing 'shakes' were made completely by hand. The Oliver's descendants lived here right up until the park's establishment in 1934...
John Oliver Place (ca. 1820's)
John Oliver and his family moved to Cades Cove in the late-1810's and built this cabin when he acquired the property for himself. All framing, wall beams, and roofing 'shakes' were made completely by hand. The Oliver's descendants lived here right up until the park's establishment in 1934...
John Oliver Place (ca. 1820's)
The view from John Oliver's front porch...
John Oliver Place (ca. 1820's)
The main room on the ground floor. The door to the right of the fireplace is a closet beneath stairs to the second floor...
John Oliver Place (ca. 1820's)
Another shot of John Oliver's front yard...
The Great Smoky Mountain Barrier
Looking south across the cove rises the main, 6,000'+ ridge of the Great Smoky Mountains. Needless to say this range was an all-but-impassible for residents coming and going to the valley...
Thunderhead Mountain? - 5,527'
If this is indeed Thunderhead Mountain, I am here looking at the highest peak which rises directly from the valley floor...nearly 4,000-feet of vertical is visible here...
Primitive Baptist Church (ca. 1887)
This structure replaced a simpler log church which had stood here since 1827. The church closed its doors during the Civil War, explained by the following notice: "We the Primitive Baptist Church in Blount County in Cades Cove , do show the public why we have not kept up our church meeting. It was on account of the Rebellion and we was Union people and the Rebels was too strong here in Cades Cove. Our preacher was obliged to leave sometimes, and thank God we once more can meet."
Primitive Baptist Church (ca. 1887) - Interior
This structure replaced a simpler log church which had stood here since 1827. The church closed its doors during the Civil War, explained by the following notice: "We the Primitive Baptist Church in Blount County in Cades Cove , do show the public why we have not kept up our church meeting. It was on account of the Rebellion and we was Union people and the Rebels was too strong here in Cades Cove. Our preacher was obliged to leave sometimes, and thank God we once more can meet."
Primitive Baptist Church (ca. 1887) - Cemetery
Proof that even bucolic Cades Cove was not safe from the violence caused by the Civil War...
Primitive Baptist Church (ca. 1887) - Cemetery
Some of the simpler, though not the oldest, graves in the cemetery. These are unique in that they had both head and foot stones...
Primitive Baptist Church (ca. 1887) - Cemetery
A simple, hand-carved gravestone...
Primitive Baptist Church (ca. 1887)
This structure replaced a simpler log church which had stood here since 1827. The church closed its doors during the Civil War, explained by the following notice: "We the Primitive Baptist Church in Blount County in Cades Cove , do show the public why we have not kept up our church meeting. It was on account of the Rebellion and we was Union people and the Rebels was too strong here in Cades Cove. Our preacher was obliged to leave sometimes, and thank God we once more can meet."
The Methodist Church in Cades Cove was established in the 1820's and met in a simple log building until this one was constructed for a cost of $115. The Civil War split this church, with Southern sympathizers building their own church across the valley (it no longer stands). On an interesting side note, this church has two front doors because it borrowed building plans from another church who had men and women sit on opposite sides. Despite not adhering to that custom, this congregation kept the design...
Methodist Church (ca. 1902) - Interior
The Methodist Church in Cades Cove was established in the 1820's and met in a simple log building until this one was constructed for a cost of $115. The Civil War split this church, with Southern sympathizers building their own church across the valley (it no longer stands)....
Missionary Baptist Church (ca. 1915)
As with the other three churches in Cades Cove, this isn't the first to stand on this location. The first was built in 1839 by a number of members of the nearby Primitive Baptist Church who were expelled for their strong missionary beliefs. The church closed its doors during the Civil War but soon reopened afterward, save without those members of the congregation who had supported the Southern cause...
Missionary Baptist Church (ca. 1915) - Interior
As with the other three churches in Cades Cove, this isn't the first to stand on this location. The first was built in 1839 by a number of members of the nearby Primitive Baptist Church who were expelled for their strong missionary beliefs. The church closed its doors during the Civil War but soon reopened afterward, save without those members of the congregation who had supported the Southern cause...
Dave Kathy Weemhoff
on May 4, 2015I do like being able to picture what the early settlers were up against.... dislike all the politicking and changes made there!