Cataloochee Valley, North Carolina

I have one more post after today, from our day at the Cataloochee Valley,  in the Smoky Mountain National Park,  near Maggie Valley,  North Carolina.  If you have missed any of my posts from here,  go to my sidebar,  scroll down to Labels and click on Cataloochee Valley.

Today,  I will share some more from that beautiful valley.  The picture above is the Caldwell House.   Hiram Caldwell and his family lived for a long time in a log house near here before building this new home in 1903.  The house was completed in 1906 and the interior paneling was imported from Waynesville,  NC,  about 25 miles away.

The shingled gables reflected the nationally popular Eastlake style of the day.  Hiram's stylish home was comfortable,  and its beauty enhanced by handmade furniture from Cosby, TN.

This was the Caldwell's barn.   While the women in the Caldwell home did their household chores,  the men and boys farmed and managed livestock on the high mountain pastures.

This is the creek which is next to the Caldwell Home.   I loved seeing the leaves in the water --since they looked like gold coins....

Since I have so many blog friends who love barns,  I have added one more picture of the Caldwell barn --from the side.... Neat,  isn't it?

This is the Beech Grove School.  This school, in the Big Cataloochee area,  is the only one of three schools that remains.  It was built in 1901 to replace an old log building.

School began at 8 a.m. and let out at 4 p.m.  with two recesses and a lunch hour.  Children usually ate in family groups,  the older ones being in charge of the little ones.  The lunch bucket was usually jammed with sweet potatoes,  cornbread,  beans,  applesauce, biscuits,  ham and a jar of milk. (Sounds like a pretty tasty lunch to me!)

This is the inside of one part of the school.  There was another large room behind this one.   That is Patti (Neal's wife) sitting in the desk..

Subject matter included reading,  writing,  spelling,  arithmetic,  geography and grammar. Friday was parents' day.  They came in the afternoon to see what the children had accomplished that week.  Spelling bees,  recitations and singing were both a test and an outlet for the pupils' pride.  School days ended in Cataloochie when the National Park came in,  in the 1930's.

Finally,   I was so excited to see the elk that I sorta ignored all of the wild turkeys that we saw that day.   Here is a picture of some of the MANY turkeys we saw.

Tomorrow,  I'll publish one more post from Cataloochee Valley.

Hugs,

P.S.  My oldest granddaughter (in Texas) turns SEVENTEEN today..... Can it be????  Oh My Gosh--they've all grown up so fast.   Happy Birthday, Sweetie Pie.

Fog in Cataloochee Valley (North Carolina)

On our Maggie Valley trip with friends, Neal and Patti,   we all drove to Cataloochee Valley early on a foggy, drizzly day (October 20).   As you know if you saw my ELK blog posts,  (HERE and HERE),  we went to Cataloochee Valley just to see the elk.

BUT--once we got there,  we realized just how gorgeous this little valley is..  I have about 2 more posts of what all we saw that morning,  but today,  I will show you pictures of this beautiful valley---in the fog (or mist)...

Native Americans were the first people to visit this beautiful valley.  Following Indian trails,  white settlers pushed into the valley in the early 1800's as older settlements on the outside became more crowded,  and family holdings were subdivided among heirs to their smallest limits.  Young adults had to go somewhere else to start a homestead.

At that time,  all of the valley belonged to Colonel Robert Love,  a post-Revolutionary War  land speculator who granted homesteads to those who would settle and improve the land.  The earliest known entries on the part of the Love estate were made by the Caldwells (1814).  By the 1850's Cataloochee was well-populated, but not full.

I kept telling George and Neal that the SUN was going to come out... They laughed at me!!!!!!!  Here's proof that the sun was up there TRYING to break through the fog.... HA HA!!!!

Here's a picture showing some of the pretty color around this foggy valley.   Cataloochee Valley would remind one of Cades Cove ---but Cades Cove is much more popular and easier to get to... BUT---I LOVE Cataloochee and hope to go back many more times.

Finally,  here is one last picture of Gorgeous Cataloochee Valley --taken on Oct. 20, 2010 early in the morning!!!!!    I have two more posts from this valley --which I will post sometime soon.  Have a great weekend,  and I'll be back on Monday!!!!

Hugs,

P.S.  George and I went to Hendersonville yesterday to check on his elderly parents.  We found them in pretty good shape --but Dad seemed tired...  Bless their hearts.  Keep them (and us) in your prayers.  

We also got to see George's daughter and husband who have been in Nashville on business this week.  They joined us for lunch --so that was a great time for all of us.   Kelly and Chuck live in Buffalo, NY --so we don't get to see them as much as we'd like.