Cades Cove, in the Great Smoky Mountains, boasts a history as fertile as the farmland that sustained the pioneering families who settled there in the early 1800s. That history has been preserved in several structures along the Cove’s 11-mile, self-guided loop road.
Millions have traveled that road and toured the buildings, but few have seen Adeline Shields’ dress with the “snuff” handkerchief pinned to the bodice, the ornate wood-burning stove that once heated the Missionary Baptist Church, the tattered quilts that kept icy mountain winters at bay, or other treasures – furniture, household items, tools, toys – that turned the houses into homes.
These artifacts and many others, on-loan or donated by former Cades Cove residents and descendants, have found a home at the Cades Cove Museum, approximately 20 miles from the Cove in Maryville, Tenn.
A visit to the museum, in the historic Thompson-Brown House, one of the oldest, two-story, dog-trot log buildings in East Tennessee, will enhance any Cades Cove experience or simply provide a glimpse into the community’s fascinating mountain culture.
For more: CadesCovePreservation.com
