Why go
History changes how you read the landscape here. The cabins and churches of Cades Cove show a settled valley, while former logging areas recall the industry that helped spur a preservation campaign. Cherokee people lived in this region before European settlement, and their descendants remain south of the park at the Qualla Boundary. The park's creation also displaced mountain residents.
The full story
Before the park existed, this region was part of the Cherokee homeland. European American settlement expanded in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the Indian Removal Act led to the forced removal of many Cherokee people. Some remained in the mountains; descendants live at the Qualla Boundary south of the park. Farms, communities, and later logging operations shaped the land visitors now see. The Little River Railroad carried timber from remote mountain areas, while extensive cutting helped build support for protecting the remaining landscape. The campaign to assemble parkland drew money from private citizens, state communities, the federal government, and John D. Rockefeller Jr. Creating the park also meant removing residents and ending farms and timber operations within its boundaries. The park was established in 1934, and Depression-era federal programs built trails and other infrastructure. At Cades Cove, preserved buildings let visitors see one part of this history while remembering that a protected landscape was also a lived-in place.
Useful to know
- Visit Cades Cove for preserved cabins, barns, and churches, then compare that settled valley with the forested roads and trails elsewhere in the park.