Pioneer Culture in the Great Smokies
Great Smoky Mountains National Park presents an opportunity to preserve frontier conditions of a century ago. The cultural and human interest aspects of this park are exceeded only by its scenery and natural history.
In places where the forest has not yet encroached upon them, there are clearings which were the sloping little farms of the mountain pioneers. Sturdy log structures in varying stages of disintegration remain there as evidence of a way of life which has practically disappeared in eastern United States. Some of these log cabins, barns, and other buildings have been rehabilitated in place so that you may see the original structures in their true setting. Most of them are in Cades Cove, where the park’s only grist mill powered by an overshot wheel is located. Cades Cove, an isolated, oval-shaped valley surrounded by mountains, is a region of outstanding pastoral charm which you should visit.
Some of the finest of various types of authentic pioneer structures have been assembled in the immediate vicinity of the Oconaluftee Ranger Station and Pioneer Museum, located on the cross-mountain highway about 2 miles north of Cherokee, N. C. On display in the museum are tools, household objects, and a variety of other handmade items which were used by the pioneers who made their homes on lands which now comprise the park. This building is open from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m., April through October.