A Smoky Mountain area resident asks visitors to use common sense
Cades Cove is the crown jewel of the Smokies. It is a confluence point of natural beauty, mountain history and conservation.
However, there are many days I’d rather go to the dentist than risk a trip around the Cove.
It’s not the Cove itself mind you. I consider it a sacred, almost holy place. But it is also a place that attracts thousands of people each year, many of whom are perfectly wonderful.
But they either don’t know or don’t care about the social contract that exists in the park and its places of wonder.
I’d rather gnaw my arm off than spend an afternoon stuck in a Cades Cove traffic jam. It’s about maximizing your experience without minimizing others’ experience.
With this in mind, in this article, I’m offering my top tips on what NOT to do while in Cades Cove to help you have the best experience when you visit this beloved section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park:
Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains is a popular tourist spot. As such, there are a few things you want to avoid to help everyone, including yourself, have a better experience. For example, you don’t want to get too close to any wildlife, block traffic or take anything from the national park.
IN THIS ARTICLE
1. Don’t leave your mark on the park
Don’t leave your mark on our park. Don’t litter or vandalize. Frankly, the people who need this advice are probably not going to take it, but some come to the park with no respect.
They’ll carve their initials in a tree, or worse a cabin, leave the remnants from a KFC picnic where they shouldn’t, or they’ll do something else that will make you question the relative value of humanity.
Please don’t be this person.
2. Don’t get too close
Everyone warns you about bothering the bears and for good reason, bears can attack humans.
Every other month or so we get a video of someone getting too close to the bears. They want to feed or get a good picture of the bears, or worse, people want to pet them.
The bears are awesome. But leave them alone. If you want a great picture of a bear either invest in a camera with a long lens or go to Zoo Knoxville.
Bears in the wild both deserve and demand our respect. Watch them from a distance that is safe for you and for the bear, which is at least 150 feet according to the NPS.
Remember human contact can prove fatal for a bear. But it’s also important to note bears are not the only wild animals in the park.
Even though you are unlikely to be killed by a deer or a wild turkey doesn’t mean you should treat them differently than you would a bear.
3. Don’t block traffic
Not everyone on The Loop is on the same schedule.
While some are there for sightseeing, others might be planning to hike a particular trail or visit a particular cabin.
If you stop to take in the sights, try to make room for other drivers. Sometimes you’ll see wildlife in a place that prevents you from getting off the road.
Try to be mindful of others.
Certainly, take your time and enjoy the experience, but remember some people would like to see the animals and enjoy the rest of the park as well.
4. Don’t overestimate your abilities
A lot of people like to walk or bike the loop or hike the many trails. Be sure to understand the difficulty of the trails or the loop.
Bring and wear the proper safety gear, including a helmet if you’re going to bike the loop.
The loop can be an idyllic ride, but accidents happen.
You should also keep in mind that the loop is 11 miles long.
Be prepared for a lengthy journey or make a plan to exit early. In other words, be smart and be safe.
5. Don’t blast music
I get it. The sun is out. The mountains are a luscious green.
The sky is blue and filled with giant white clouds. The visuals are stunning.
You’re in a good mood and want to improve the day with some jams.
It’s time for some Bay City Rollers, right? Wrong. Get some headphones or keep it turned down, OK?
6. Don’t take souvenirs
Some people will find a rock or a flower or some other naturally occurring treasure and decide to take it home.
After all, there are hundreds of rocks in the stream or flowers in the patch, who will it hurt?
Nobody is going to miss a single rock or flower, of course, but the attrition of everyone who visits the park taking some small token will add up over time.
Additionally, taking or moving rocks in mountain streams hurts the salamander population in the Smoky Mountains.
Also, it’s a crime.
7. Don’t wear the wrong shoes
Finally, you want to be comfortable.
You plan to drive the Cove so you don’t need hiking shoes.
Then you see a deer off in the distance behind the cabins and you decide to go for a closer look. Or perhaps you want to walk through one of the old cabins.
Suddenly those flips flops are a bad choice.
You don’t have to wear hiking boots, but comfortable shoes you can walk in if necessary should be mandatory.
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3 Hidden Gems Uncovered at This 200-Year-Old Church in Cades Cove
The Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove is now over 200 years old, here are a few of the hidden gems that lie within
Growing up a short drive from Cades Cove, I went to school with the descendants of both the early settlers and the last remaining residents of the Cove.
And like others, I drive the Cove looking for wildlife and scenic views.
I also visit the historic homesteads and churches. Unlike others, I suppose, I like to explore the old graveyards, looking for familiar names.
That’s so-and-so’s great-grandfather. That’s probably a cousin, an aunt or an uncle.
The Cove is full of more than scenic beauty.
It’s full of the stories of the people who lived and died there.
It remains a tribute to the people who worshipped and farmed and just existed in the place before it became a National Park.
The beauty of Cades Cove is almost overwhelming.
There’s so much to look at, so much to see, that a lot of little pieces of history can go unnoticed. From John Oliver’s Cabin to Tipton Place, from the Methodist Church to the Primitive Baptist Church, Cades Cove manages to hide many secrets right out in the open.
1. The Strange Metal Plate on the Floor
What became known as the Primitive Baptist Church began in 1827, less than a decade after John Oliver and his wife, Lurena or Lucretia, became the first settlers in the area in 1818.
Meetings were held in members’ homes until 1832 when a log cabin was built.
It sat to the rear of the current church building, which was erected in 1887.
The building today remains much as it was while in use.
The church was built by hand and the fingerprints of those who built it remain on the ceiling.
Today, in the middle of the church floor, you’ll see a metal plate.
Many a visitor wonders why the metal plate is there, does it have some religious significance? Nope.
It was there to protect the wood floor from the stove which was used to heat the building.
That wood-burning stove kept congregants warm on cold mountain Sundays.
2. A Crack in the Floor Dividing the Pews
As you walk into the church, if you look down at the floorboards, you’ll see a wide crack running through the middle of the church right up to the place where the stove once sat.
Some will tell you that crack was brought about by a division in the church.
There were a few of those over the years.
The church began as a part of the Wears Cove Church – officially known as the Cades Cove Arm of Wears Cove Church.
Eventually, they separated and became Cades Cove Baptist. However, in the 1830s, there was a schism in the Baptist Church over mission work.
It wasn’t simply a local debate. Baptist churches across the South face a similar division.
In 1839, 13 members left Cades Cove Baptist and formed Cades Cove Missionary Baptist – which now sits further down the Loop Road.
In 1841, the church officially adopted its Primitive Baptist name.
Another division of sorts occurred during the Civil War when the church congregation stopped meeting altogether.
The National Park Service says that the hiatus was explained in church records thusly, “we was Union people and the Rebels was too strong here in Cades Cove.”
In fact, in the church cemetery is the grave of Russell Gregory who was killed by North Carolina Confederates.
However, since the current church wasn’t built until 1877, neither the Missionary Baptist schism nor the Civil War can be blamed for the divisive crack in the floor.
3. Familiar Names on Early Graves
The Primitive Baptist Church is also home to the graves of many of the now-famous original Smoky Mountain settlers. Many of whose names you might recognize.
As we mentioned John Oliver and his wife – the grave marker calls her Lurena but the NPS refers to her as Lucretia – are buried in the cemetery along with many other prominent names in Cove history. Names in the cemetery include Shields, Gregory, Anthony and others.
John and his wife came to the Cove at the recommendation of a former neighbor in Carter County.
They arrived in 1818 with their one-year-old daughter Polly.
Luckily for the Olivers, the Cherokee people who had lived in the area for thousands of years helped them through the extremely harsh first winter.
The Olivers had seven more children and their family continued to live on the homestead until the National Park’s arrival more than 100 years later, though some built their homestead.
You can visit the Elijah Oliver homestead in the Cove as well.
John – who was a private in the War of 1812 – is buried in the Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery as are Lurena and six of their children. George – who died in infancy in 1824 before the existence of the church – is buried in Davis Cemetery.
John N. Oliver evidently moved to Georgia where his youngest daughter was born in 1862, the year he died. It’s unclear where he is buried.
How to find the Primitive Baptist Church
The Primitive Baptist Church is easy to find. Just take the Cades Cove Loop Road past the John Oliver Cabin.
You’ll go through a couple of forested areas before you see a road to the left.
There is a small sign directing you down to the Primitive Baptist Church.
If you get to the Methodist Church or the Missionary Baptist Church, you’ve gone too far. But since you can’t circle back, you’ll have to catch it on your next trip around.
Or you could park at the Methodist Church and walk back. Despite the schism, it’s not that far.
The history of Cades Cove is often overshadowed by the scenic beauty and natural wonder.
But the stories of those who lived their lives in the Cove and the buildings the National Park Service has preserved are worthy of your attention as well.
Many secrets lie in those old buildings and the grounds that surround them.
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The Fight for Cades Cove and the People Who Refused to Leave
It turns out, not everyone was thrilled when the land became government property
When touring Cades Cove today, we see one of nature’s true holy places.
The verdant valley with its fields and streams, is surrounded by the high mountains.
It’s a place of wonder and we rejoice that our forebearers nearly 100 years ago sought to preserve for us.
But, as someone who went to school with members of the last family to live in the Cove, I can tell you there’s more to this story.
Before the park, the Cove was a larger community of people than you’d think by looking at the few frontier buildings left.
I can tell you that while many were glad to take the government’s buyout and strike out for someplace less remote, many fought to stay.
While the National Park has proven to be a boon for the region – and the country as a whole, it came at a price for the people who’d settled there.
For an outsider on a tour of Cades Cove, it may seem like a paradise.
But before it was protected for future generations, it was a living, breathing and often complicated community with its own way of life.
A way that was lost when the Park came in.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Cades Cove Before the Government Took It
John Oliver was the first European-descended settler in what became known as Cades Cove in 1819.
He, his wife and young child survived thanks in large part to the native peoples for whom the Cove was a hunting ground.
He was followed by other settlers who cleared lands for farming, and built log homes, barns and more.
This era is chiefly preserved in the park through the churches that serve as a reminder that Cades Cove became a larger community.
The early settlers planted orchards and grew corn in the Coves’ fertile lands.
Within 30 years of Oliver’s arrival, the population neared 700 people thanks to large families like the Shields.
Frederick Shields, one of the early residents of the Cove fathered 16 children, 13 of which lived to adulthood.
In addition to the churches, the community had schools, houses and even a post office, grist mill and general store.
A few years ago, I spoke with Rex Caughron, whose dad Kermit was the Cove’s last resident. Rex was raised in the cove, as were his daughters.
He told me a little about what life was like in the Smokies in the early 1900s before the park. Kermit was born in the Cove in 1912.
As a young man, he’d spend summers up in the high mountains near the Carolina border, herding livestock up near where you’d find the Appalachian Trail today.
The Cove back then, was quite different.
“Whenever he came up, it wasn’t a park. They could rabbit hunt and there wasn’t deer or bears, Rex said. “The deer didn’t show up until the late 50s.”
While they didn’t have deer, in a 1975 interview, Kermit explained bears could be a danger to livestock.“Used to, when one got in, why we come down here, and we’d get up a crew of hunters, you know, and dogs and go back up there and kill it,” Kermit said.
“There wasn’t any open season or closed season. Why, one killed a cow, why, a calf, why, we killed a bear, then had a feast.”
Why Did They Build The Park?
But the Smokies – the natural wonder of the mountains – were endangered. Loggers were causing havoc, taking forests at unsustainable rates.
Don’t forget that the Sinks waterfalls were created in part when loggers tried to break up a jam on the Little River. They used so much dynamite, they changed the course of the river forever.
In addition, monied people were buying up land and creating getaways for the rich and influential.
The push for the creation of the park began picking up steam in the 1920s through writers and naturalists like Horace Kephart who had started the push years earlier.
In 1926, President Calvin Coolidge signed the bill to establish the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
Tennessee and North Carolina donated 300,000 acres and a fund was created to raise funds to buy the rest of the land from the people living on it.
John D. Rockefeller donated half – $5 million – of the money raised to buy private lands.
How Some Residents Fought Back
Some were happy to take the money and strike out for a new life.
Others? Not so much. For instance, a sign was placed at the entrance to the Cove warning Col. Chapman, president of the Great Smoky Mountain Preservation Association, not to get any closer to the Cove than Knoxville.
“Col. Chapman, you and host are notified. Let the Cove people alone. Get out. Get gone. 40 mile limit.”
John Oliver’s descendant John W. Oliver sued several times to keep from having to sell his land.
Of course, most eventually sold.
A dedicated few, however, like the Walker sisters, negotiated a lower price selling price in exchange for the right to live on the land for the rest of their lives.
Kermit tried to leave. He took the sale and moved to Maryville, even trying to work at Alcoa. But he felt hemmed in.
Much to the chagrin of his wife, Lois, Kermit negotiated his return to the Cove and spent the rest of his life living there under a series of five-year leases.
He became known as the bee man, selling honey in the park for $1 a jar on the honor system.
Rex was raised in the park during the transition.
He had a front-row seat for the changes.
“I’ve seen a lot of changes,” he said. “When I started school, there were 27 in my class. When I graduated, in 1962, there were only three.”
Later, Rex was able to get his five-year lease and raised his daughters there, working the land and raising livestock. They were the last generation raised in the park.
“It’s where I made a living, where I raised four girls,” he said. “How quiet it was at night, and the stars, that’s another thing that stood out to me.
You didn’t have no street lights, didn’t have no people.”
Cades Cove Today
Today, Cades Cove is one of the most popular destinations in the park.
Its natural beauty and preserved history make it a wonderful place for hiking, fishing, exploring and more.
It’s a great picnic spot and there’s a campground just outside the Cove.
The preserved buildings and homesteads provide an insight into what life was like in the 1800s but not so much when Kermit or Rex lived there.
It’s a perfect spot for wildlife viewing or to just enjoy the peace of nature – provided the other tourists don’t get too wild.
You can find it from the Townsend entrance to the National Park by turning right at the Townsend Wye.
It is accessible from Gatlinburg by taking Little River Gorge Road through the Wye onto Laurel Creek Road. You can’t miss it.
Cades Cove is one of the premier destinations in the Smokies. It’s beautiful, full of wildlife and history.
Despite the hardships that would have come with life in the Cove, it’s easy to see why families fought to stay.
Beyond legacy, it’s simply one of the most beautiful places on Earth and would be something akin to paradise if you value mountain peace and beauty and don’t mind hard work or modern comforts.
Are you planning a trip to the Smoky Mountains? Be sure to check out our coupons page for area promos.
Have a question or comment about something in this article? Contact our staff here. You may also contact our editorial team at info@thesmokies.com.
