It's a family thing....Cades Cove

I was "facebook stalking" this morning and ran across the Cades Cove "like" page! Cades Cove is part of my family's history in the Smokey Mountains of East Tennessee. Every since I was a little girl I can remember taking a family trip to visit our kin folks in Tennessee. And every visit we made a point to visit Cades Cove and my dad would tell us the history of the Cove over and over again. Now that I'm older and wiser, I can appreciate my dad and my family's history.

Cades Cover was once known as "Kate's Cove" after an Indian Chief's wife. The Cove drew the Cherokee Nation back again and again by its abundant wildlife and good hunting. Later, Cades Cove's wildlife drew Eurpean descent fronteirsmen to make it their home. They and their offspring cleared the fertile valley floor and built farms to sustain them. The pioneer's families lived in Cades Cove for many generations before the cove became part of The Great Smokey Mountain National Park. Today, Cades Cove is still as full of wildlife as before but draws not hunters, but millions of Smokies visitors. Some of the homes that were once built then are now preserved and still standing. My great great great great grandparents are among the many that lived there. John and Lurany Oliver were their names and they were the first white settlesr that made it to the cove. The Olivers came despite the fact that there wasn't any Indian treaty allowing them across the Mountains. This usually caused some sort of friction between the two. However, in the case of the Olivers the Cherokee Indians actually helped them survive their first winter. The Olivers purchased their land in 1826!!! Wow!!

John and Lurany Oliver had several children and one of them was named Elizabeth. Elizabeth married an ANTHONY! Which is how I come into this picture! The Oliver's offspring still lived in the cove until it became a National Park in 1934.

Here's some pictures from Cades Cove:

John Oliver's home