November 1, 2012 A.M.

 Cades Cove is 2500 acres of open space located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is a beautiful, sheltered valley with a mixture of forest, meadows and and outdoor museum of pioneer life dating back to the 1800's. The primary access to Cades Cove is a narrow 11-mile, one-way Loop Road.








The Cove was a farming community, with corn being the most important crop.  In 1850 the population of the Cove was 685 with 137 families. By 1869, only 269 remained.  The population slowly grew throughout the years, but only reached 500 in the late 1930's when the park was established. We drove the 11 mile Loop Road visiting the homes of the old pioneers and the churches they built. The last of the old pioneers died in 1999.

 

This is the primitive Baptist Church, established in 1827. There was also a Methodist Church which looks identical to this one. It is said it was built in 15 days for $115 in 1902.

 

 

"Col. Hamp" Tipton had this house built in the early 1870's, but never lived there. Rather, his daughters, who taught school in the Cove, lived there.

On the other side of the road stands his double-pen corn crib ( I've never seen anything like this before). 

There were 7 cabins still standing along the route, as well as 3 churches. The Cable Mill area consisted of the Blacksmith shop, smokehouse, corn crib, sorghum mill, other barns.

Around 2 million visitors come each year to drive the 11-mile one-way Loop Road.  Now we are two of them people - and although we didn't see much for wildlife (a few deer and wild turkeys) it was a lovely drive.