Cades Cove

Long before Europeans settled in the Cades Cove valley of the Great Smoky Mountains, Cherokees Indians traveled through the valley to hunt the abundant deer, elk, bison and bears.
The first European settlers arrived in the Cove in the early 1820s. They built log homes, barns, corncribs, smokehouses and cleared land for farming. 

By 1850, the population in the valley was approximately 685 as new families moved to the Cove. It was not uncommon for a household to have ten to twelve children. As the population grew, more community buildings were needed. A Baptist and Methodist church were established in the 1820s. Schoolhouses were built a little later, so at first the schoolchildren met in farm houses where the school teachers were boarding.

It was common for neighbors to assist one another and they often made social events out of corn husking, molasses making and gathering chestnuts during the autumn months. 

Today, the National Park Service manages and maintains Cades Cove as it looked in the early days of the settlers. In 1945, the National Park Service designated Cades Cove as a "historical area" within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and restored several of the older log cabins and barns. 

Terri Waters captures the essence of Cades Cove in her artwork as both a tribute and a memory for those who continue to experience it's history and beauty.

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