This past Thursday, on a very cloudy day, George and I again drove to Cades Cove to check out the gravel road between Cades Cove and Townsend --over Rich Mountain. Before we went up the mountain, we stopped at another church in Cades Cove, the Methodist Church.
J. D. Mc Campbell, a blacksmith and carpenter, built a church, in the 1820's, in 115 days for $115. He later served many years as its minister. The congregation started in a log building, which lasted until they built this church in 1902.
Above is a picture of the little church taken from the cemetery beside it. Below are more.
Several of you have asked us to take more 'inside' pictures when we visit different places. SO--we did it for YOU, even though it was dark in there!!!! This picture shows the inside of the little church. There were several rows of pews, an altar/pulpit and even a piano... That's George standing there on the right!
Of course, I had to check out the pulpit.... BUT--luckily, I didn't start preaching... ha (See the old upright piano on the left?)
As we walked around the cemetery, this stone caught my attention... Look at it carefully... This family lost 3 baby boys in 3 years. How sad.
I couldn't read any words which may have been printed on this one, other than the word, MOTHER. BUT--I loved seeing the heart.
Another infant death; there were so many back then... What caught my attention here was the little lamb. Sweet, huh? And I loved those words at the bottom.
Finally, this is a picture of the front of the little Methodist Church. NOTE the two doors entering the church... This usually indicates that the church follows the custom of men sitting on one side and women on the other... But--I read that this church did not follow that custom. It seems that the church borrowed the building plans of another church that did divide its congregation by gender. Interesting, huh????
Hope you enjoyed seeing another one of the little churches in Cades Cove. In tomorrow's blog, I will show you this little church from up on Rich Mountain.
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Hope you had a wonderful weekend. We had 3 inches of rain on Saturday (YEAH RAH)---and Sunday was a PERFECT day in Tennessee (mild temperatures, gorgeous blue skies).... What can I say???? Life is GOOD!!!
Hugs,
61 comments:
That's a beautiful church Betsy and I love the old upright piano. We received rain on Saturday too and yesterday was cooler with a brisk breeze! Enjoy the week.
I love these old churches, simple yet the very soul of the community.
I also wondered why there were two doors, I thought it was for going in, and coming out...like a restaurant kitchen ;)
I took pictures also of those little headstones, so sad that children died so young.
It looked like you and George had a grand time, it's one of the most picturesque places especially at this time of the year...
Lovely post, Betsy!
I like the simplicity of this church,its as if they are saying you don't need the trappings just the will to praise God. As for the two entrances maybe they are saying you are doubly welcome here, come on in. Great shots as usual.
I do love little country churches, and this one's a gem.
Hey Betsy, guess what! Husband is going to be in Dandridge for a week at a woodworking school. I have told him to look around for real estate.
You looked right at home in the pulpit. We've walked the Cove cemetaries in the past and were always shocked by the number of small child deaths.
After going to that church and being nice and not leaving any graffiti anywhere, I wonder did you do something that granted three inches of rain? We sure need that and then some to catch up.
I have been back in Cades Cove several times. It's always a nice place to visit and to try and think what it would have been to live there back then. My best memories are watching all the deer in large packs - just so pretty.
Beautiful post Betsy! Something about old cemeteries that tug at my heart strings.
Loved seeing the inside too. Made we wonder - who sat in those pews, what did they hear, how did they live out their lives.
Thanks for this window of history this morning!
Have a wonderful day!
I am back with a public blog, fyi, so I can connect with the general public. Still have the private blog. But here is the site of the new public blog.
http://mymellowpages.blogspot.com/
I'm very happy with the decision to do this b/c I've missed connecting with folks.
I love old churches and old graveyards. These are excellent pictures!
Jane
We so love churches & history, as well as my barns. You captured this beautifully ... would've been one fabulous sermon from you, Betsy. He would've been proud to hear about the beauty He has shared of this earth with us.
There are a lot of little lambs i cemetaries (old) where the wee ones rest...so sad to read them stones & feel the pain of the parents losses.
Have a beautiful week.
TTFN ~ Hugs, Marydon
Betsy, this is such an interesting post...I enjoyed the cemetery photos and the church...the two door concept and the info on the building of the church...wow...15 days and 15 dollars sounds like the title of a book!!! Wishing you and George a wonderful week!!!
I love these pictures!! I am not religious but I do love to see these old churches and this one doesn't disappoint!!
So sad about the babies, unfortunately a sign of the times and very interesting about the two doors. I have never heard of this before!
I love reading tombstones too. It gives you a feel of real people in history. The church is quaint and simple, The story of the two doors was interesting.
Oh I so totally love this post. Old churches and old cemeterys! I could wander through them for hours.
I like to wander through old cemeterys and look at the ages and the words they put on them. little otis died on sept 5, my birthday. the first two must have been stillborn otis lived 6 months. it was a hard life back then. my dad was born in 1913 and i was brought up on stoires of those years.
Very interesting!
Glad you are getting some much needed rain Betsy! We had a beautiful Sunday here too ~ finally.
You should have given a little speach when you were standing at the pulpit ~ you have lots of wise things to say. :)
Have a terrific week Betsy!
xo Catherine
PS ~ it is pouring here right now... again!
See I told you it would rain on you! Love the pictures of the old grave stones, especially the one with the little lamb. Very touching.
Go out and enjoy our plants today. They should be looking their best after such a long bath.
Have a great day!
What a cute little church! I believe that to attend a church like that would have been wonderful.Wait a minute,as i was typing that,I remembered that I used to attend a church about that size,but i was quite young then and don't remember too much about the fellowship.
On another note,we still have at least one denomination in our area where the men and women sit on opposite sides of the church.
Blessings,Ruth
What a lovely little church, Betsy! I enjoyed seeing these pictures. :-)
Hi Betsy, I attend Methodist church in my area.. thanks for posting up a Methodist church in your area! :)
It's always fun traveling with you. Churches fascinate me ... old, new, big, small ... each has it's own feel. I'ts own personality.
I love the little white country churches of a simpler time. (Not really simpler actually a harsher time to us softies) I am a cemetary seeker too. I like the headstones and the wonderful sayings too.
Nice post, Betsy MB
What a lovely church Betsy. Gregg and I also enjoy visiting them on our travels and walking through the cemeteries. A lot of history there but how sad about all those babies.
Thanks for stopping by this morning. Have a great week.
An English Girl Rambles
The church is lovely. I've only seen Quaker-style churches that have two doors like that. I wonder if the old piano is tuned properly. I walk through cemeteries, too, on our travels. It is sad that so many babies died in those times. Perhaps one of them, if he/she had lived, would have brought the world to peace.
I love the simple wooden cross in the church.
Another interesting post! What tugged at my heartstrings was the family that lost all those newborns! Those headstones are so fascinating. Love the simplicity of the church - but I remember those kinds of pews as not being to comfortable on one's backside. In one of our churches people brought their own cushions and left them - in 'their' seat! Love the double doors idea - double welcome, emergency exit, separation of the sexes, whatever it meant, lol! So nice that you took pics of the inside with you and George. There are no distractions, just focus on the cross. And I bet the boards and benches creaked! And if the walls could talk.......
The SECOND I saw the first inside picture, I thought YES!!!! You finally went inside somewhere!!! Wasn't to fun, now? Don't you look too cute behind the puplit? If it was dark in there, you'd NEVER know it!! You and George both have good cameras that overcome it. I see there are two AMEN! corners up front! The three of us are something else! Sandra posted piggies today, and I had just taken piggy pictures this weekend. Now you with the gravestones, and I just took pictures of the exact same heart and lamb stones!!! I love looking at the little church and graveyard, now I feel like I've been there. I, myself just love looking around old cemetaries and little churches.
This is a very sweet looking church...love seeing you at the pulpit.
Oh, so many infant deaths back in the day and that is So sad.
Glad you got your rain!
You can learn a lot of history about a place by reading old headstones. I love to explore old cemeteries.
This lovely little church looks like a popular place to visit; and as far as the doors...I thought one was IN and the other OUT! Haha!
☼ Sunny
Hi Betsy, Yes, you said it correctly - life is good! Nice photos of the grave stones and that beautiful old church. Have a good day!
One beautiful fall afternoon when we visited Cades Cove, there was a wedding at that church! How fun is that!
The church that my mother's family attended (Sandy Level, VA) looked a lot like this one. When the church wanted to build a new building closer to the highway, the family feared that the cemetery would not be properly tended (many family members are buried there) and agreed to donate the money for the new building if it were erected on the same site. They did and it was. So sad that these old graveyards contain so many infant graves.
Best,
Bonnie
Betsy, I loved seeing your pictures of this church! We went into a similar one but I believe it was on the way to Cataloochee Valley and was called Palmer Methodist Church.
This was so interesting Betsy. I always enjoy looking at old cemeteries and chuches. The simplicity of that chuch was refreshing. Sadly, infant motality was so high in those days!
It doesn't take long to remember and realize how high infant morbidity and mortality rates were in those days. So glad this is no longer the norm.
I am loving all these pictures from Cades Cove... those tombstone were very interesting, I also enjoy this type of history.
I did not know that Methodists ever separated folks by gender!
Sweet gravestones, too, Betsy. I love the writing on the baby one, so elegant and pretty. Diane
Another handsome church, I love the simplicity of the older churches. The gravestones were very touching...
Love the infant Grave stone, makes you wonder? poor folk.
Real nice shots Betsy
Isn't there an old gospel song about 'the little church in the wildwood'? For some reason that came to mind when I saw your first photo. It is sad to walk through the old cemeteries and see so many of those little lambs. There is a small cemetery in Oregon where I counted 15 graves of children under the age of ten who had died within a week of each other. We figured it must have been an epidemic of some sort.
Glad to hear you got some much needed rain, hopefully we will have some soon.
Betsy: Fun trip to the little country church. The death of the babies was sad.
I think you and George miss your true calling, Betsy. You both would make wonderful preachers.
Fabulous photos of the church and tombstones, I enjoyed them immensely.
I too love the one with the heart and the word Mother. How very sweet. I love all the pictures of the church and grounds....hugs...m...
I loved seeing this little old church. That was back when you left church, you knew you had been there. Even now, it makes you wonder if you can trust the preachers and doctors any more. Times have really changed.
Beautiful photos. Thank you for sharing your trip.
Those baby tombstones about broke my heart..! those poor families! I always love the cemetery photos and old country church photos too.
What a picture perfect little church Betsy and just look at that fab weather, reminds me of home!
I often read headstones too and have also noticed how much more prevalent infant deaths were, very sad.
Now send us the rain please!
That Hill family, so sad.
When my Dad died, the church parlour was next to an old cemetery. As we were there three days, sometimes we wondered into the cemetery. My husband and I noticed two generations of that family, there were 4 infants buried there. My husband reckons there must be some inherited syndrome in the family.
Baby graves touch me because it remind me of my late baby son, and there are other bereaved mums like me all over the world.
These pictures make me want to take another trip south! We've actually stood right where you and George were in that little church. While we didn't go through the cemetary, we normally do when we come to old gravesites; they are very interesting and set a mind on all sorts of paths! Those folks truly lived through some very hard times.
Re: Suction truck,
We have another smaller machine that comes daily to vacuum the leaves and rubbish. This one just drives along.
and we hardly hear it.
Not the same this giant vacuum. It was so loud that attracted me.
So glad there are vaccinations these days, and babies don't die like before. But there are some women who is against vaccinations, and childhood diseases are coming back and spreading to others.
I just got the service unavailable message. arghhhh....
I love looking at the old headstones as well. They have so much more character than most today.
Looking forward to the road to Townsend. I know we've never done that and you've peaked my interest.
We had rain today too and a rainbow!
I love roaming around old cemeteries and not only seeing all the different headstones, from the very ornate to the simpliest ones made of wood, but to also read verses and dates. Very interesting and what a great spot for exploring such history!
Have a fabulous day!
i took a lot of photos of the cemeteries here too because i find them peaceful literally and figuratively. our cemeteries back home are way different from here. the tombstones that you featured here are really unique.
i took a lot of photos of the cemeteries here too because i find them peaceful literally and figuratively. our cemeteries back home are way different from here. the tombstones that you featured here are really unique.
I love that old church building. I have seen it several times - but I don't think I had ever heard the reason for the two doors. I have had many congregations to speak to in Africa where the women and children sat on one side and the men on the other. That tradition is breaking down rapidly in many places there. Thanks for this good post and great pictures.
Betsy, those headstones of babies always get to me. I just cannot imagine how the mothers handled that...specially when it was one right after the other.
Wonderful shots of church and cemetery. I like that gravestone with the "budding...blooming" idea. Hadn't read that anywhere before.
I love the simplicity of that little church.
Cemeteries are always fascinating to me. So sad that so many infants died.
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