Handicappe d Accessible in the Smokies

EUROPEAN ARRIVALS

I n the mid to late 1800s, European settlers ventured into the mountains.  Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto was truly the first European arrival in 1540, but his expedition passed quickly through the region, searching for fabled Aztec and Incan riches.  The first permanent settlers brought many of the traditions of their homelands to the Smokies as they climbed the North Carolina Piedmont and passed into rich mountain valleys. Like the Cherokee before them, these pioneers lived off what they won from the land.  Concentrating their settlements in the fertile lowlands, these primarily Scotch-Irish settlers created self-contained worlds in areas like Cades Cove and Cataloochee. Latecomers were forced into the highlands. Known as hardscrabble farmers, they tilled infertile valleys and rocky slopes, eking out an existence in the unforgiving mountains. Examples of these types of homesteads can be seen in the Roaring Fork area.

The mountains provided the two elements needed for shelter, wood and stone.  Foundations and fireplaces were built of stacked stone, found in abundance in stream beds and the rock-strewn slopes.  Once the foundation was laid, logs were felled to provide the structure's walls. Settlers chose American chestnut and yellow poplar hardwoods for their insect and rot resistance. The logs were hand hewn, leaving a rectangular block of the tree's most resilient wood and notched for stacking.  Doors and windows were kept small not due to the stature of the cabin's inhabitants, but to prevent heat from escaping.

Each community was centered around a mill. Corn provided the staple food for settlers well into the 20th century. Settlers harnessed the power of water by constructing mills along the mountains' many creeks and streams.  Primitive turbines collected the fast-flowing water to spin the stones that turned corn into meal.  A mill was the mark of true self-sufficiency; if a family was able to build their own mill, they could avoid paying tolls to have their corn ground and could even earn additional income by charging others.

The National Park Service maintains many original structures from these early days.  Oconaluftee Village and Cades Cove's Cable Mill area serve as working examples of pioneers' self-sufficiency.  In other areas, structures are simply left open for visitors to explore and contemplate the difficult life of a pioneer family.