We are back from Tennessee... what a beautiful state. Touring through the national forest in Cades Cove was enlightening. We saw where the first settlers (John Oliver) claimed land and built a house (cabin) that the state has preserved for us to see...
The Oliver's bought land in the Cove in 1826 and this cabin site remained in the family until the Park was established. The house is typical of many found on the eastern frontier in the mid-1850s, and reflects the skills and techniques brought into the mountains by descendants of British and European immigrants.
The round logs were scored first along their length with a
felling axe, then hewn with a broad axe. The notched corners need no pegs or nails, as gravity locks them together. Chinks (open spaces between the logs) were filled with mud to seal out wind and rain. The stone chimney was laid in mud mortar. Windows and doors are typically small, to conserve heat, and maintain the strength of the building. Split wooden shingles, the most common material used here, cover the roof. The materials to build this house are growing or lying all around you. Could you duplicate this shelter if need be?
Privacy in the home was rare. Life centered in the main room. Children were welcomed. The more kids, the lighter the farm work. Older folk lived here, too. A head count of ten to twelve under one roof was not unusual. The home was a business, school, hospital, orphanage, nursing home and poor house.
Several cabins exist throughout this national forest and they are quite spread out from one another yet they were neighbors. They depended on one another for support and bartering. Every Sunday they would gather at their church (yet another preservation from the state) Primitive Baptist Church. There they would bring the families and stay the entire day... one service in the morning and one in the evening. The middle of the day consisted of rest, fellowship, food and play.
I have included a picture of the outside and the inside.. nothing has changed. It is in the original form as it was back in the day... a little help from the state with paint is all that has changed. The church was built in 1827 and utilized until 1887.You can see the cemetery behind the church...
In the cemetery lie Oliver's, Gregory's, Shields and Anthony's who first populated the Cove. Only descendants from the original families are allowed to be buried here.
Take a minute and noticed the two headstones next to one another.. They were twins... one twin died the day of birth and the other lived 93 years before she was put to rest along side her sister in 2004. They were from the Gregory family..
All cabins were built next to fresh water streams...
How simple life once was. No phones, tv, stores, etc... your time was spent working and appreciating the fruits of your labor with family and friends.. back then, the value of family and friends were of much higher importance than it is today. These people were not in competition with their neighbors for the best "toys"... they needed each other and found appreciation for their very existence.
I suppose we can find the good and bad with both eras... but I hear more times than not from the elders I know "If only the times were like they used to be" or "life was much more simpler back then"....
Today's new technology was designed to make life easier but maybe it's just adding to our stress. One thing is for sure - we can never go back to "like it used to be"... life is ever changing.
No comments:
Post a Comment