Cataloochee, North Carolina

 

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”

John Muir

Every time I see mountains, I feel exhilarated. Today was no different as the mountains came into view. The beauty of the mountains is breathtaking and lets me know there is a God and he is good. We were heading to Cataloochee Campground in the Smoky Mountains National Park. We haven’t been here for over five years and we were very excited to be heading back to our old stomping grounds.

We headed up Cove Creek Road which is a nice paved road on our long trek up the mountain and passed some lovely country homes with pastures and horses dotting the side of the mountain. Some of the homes had very steep driveways. I wondered how they make out in the winter. After going just over seven miles, we headed onto Cataloochee Entrance Road. This winding road, once known as the Cataloochee Turnpike and was built right on the edge of the mountain. This was the first wagon road in the Smokies and was all built by hand. This engineering feat was completed in the 1860’s. 

The scenic views were incredible with steep drop offs and with no guard rails these cliffs went down further than you really want to see when driving. There is a 3 miles section of road that is covered with packed loose gravel with sharp turns. We drove over Cataloochee Divide and Sterling Ridge through a gorgeous tunnel of trees. The lush forest on either side of us was stunning. While driving on this road, you must always be on the lookout for oncoming traffic since some of the road is only wide enough for one car to pass at a time and there are many blind curves.

Once you get to the main road at Cataloochee, it is paved again. Cataloochee is a section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That paved road weaves its way down to where the campground is located. When we pulled into the campground, to our relief, it all looked the same and we got the same feeling as the first time we had come here in 1982. We first discovered this campground during the Worlds Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee. We were driving from Kentucky and wanted to go camping in the Smokies but none of the lower campgrounds had any openings. So we decided to try Cataloochee Campground. We figured we may have a chance to get a camping spot since it was so remote. Back then you had to drive all the way up the mountain to find out if they had any spots. Fortunately, Cataloochee had a camping site for us. At that time, Cataloochee was mainly known to the locals and when we arrived, they were very interesting in finding out how we knew about it. Some of the locals came over to help us set up camp and even invited us to their campfires for meals and songs. They were some of the loveliest people who became life long friends.

We checked in and then pulled around to our campsite passing many campers who were sitting near their campfires. The smoke wafted up through the trees and looked stunningly beautiful as the sun peered through the leaves creating streaks of light decorating the forest floor. Cataloochee campground sits at an elevation of 2,600 feet and has a moderate climate which was so refreshing after leaving Georgia’s heat.

Now you have to go online to reserve a campsite which saves you the hassle of driving the long distance up the mountain, not knowing if you will even get a spot. All firewood brought into the campground has to be heat treated and USDA approved so no one brings in any invasive bugs that could hurt the beautiful forest. There is a bathroom with running water and a toilet but no hot water or showers so just know that you will be roughing it here. But it is so worth it; take my word on it. During our stay, we had an Elk who frequented the campground near us throughout the weekend. The sound of the rushing creek flowing by the campground was lovely. The creek was crystal clear and beautiful. The children were told their were crayfish in the creek and enjoyed trying to catch them.

   

Cataloochee Valley is as far removed as you can get in the Smokies and is stunning. There are wide open fields with loads of wildlife roaming freely, especially in the evening. Every evening, it is tradition that most of the campers drive out to the pastures to view the wildlife. When we first came here, back in the 80’s the fields would be full of deer, turkey, and an occasional bear. Now, since they reintroduced the Elk in February 2001, the deer seem to have left. The mountains accent the beauty of the place and smell of the air is delightful. During this past trip we were blessed by seeing a mom ma bear and her three cubs up close. The cubs were just jumping up and down making there way through the tall grass while following their mom. We saw lots of turkeys and the elk were plentiful but we didn’t see one deer.

The historic Caldwell House is a white two story home with blue trim that sits 100 feet back from Rough Fork Creek off a narrow dirt road. This home was built between 1898 – 1903 by Hiram Caldwell who cut the wood and built the home. All he used was a portable saw mill that he ran from the rushing water of the creek, a hammer, and nails. This house took five years to build as they had to take breaks on building the home to plant their crops.

To get to this home, you cross over a beautiful footbridge made from downed timber from this region and then walk over a boardwalk. There are two stunning porches, one on the front and one on the back of the house. There are many rooms you can walk through in the home. The home has no furnishings inside but you can still see in some rooms old newspapers that were used as wallpaper. Looking up to the ceiling, you can see the beautifully designed beaded ceilings. The stair case banister is showing the fine woodwork that was done in this home. As I wandered through the home, I felt how life was over a hundred years ago and could just imagine their family here before the National Park existed. I could imagine the children running from room to room laughing with delight. This home was built well and has with stood strong through many years of storms and hard winters. Across the road from the house is the magnificent, Caldwell Barn built in 1923. It was artistically built and is stunning. It makes a perfect place to get that perfect picture with the mountains in the background.

If you continue down Cataloochee Entrance Road to the end, you will find the Rough Fork trail. This trail leads you to the Woody House, which was named after Jonathan Woody. It was originally a one room log cabin built in the mid 1880’s. It was expanded by Johnathan’s son, Steve Woody from 1901 – 1910 to a two story white home since his family needed more space. As we walked up to it, we saw it was wide open, welcoming all to go in and explore. There are no furnishings in this home either. It is an easy one mile hike through a gorgeous forest and you get to pass over three timber footbridges. A section of the trail is full of river rock and looks like it must be for water runoff during storms. There is also a spring house where they stored their cold foods close to the house. This is a very isolated house with not as many visitors as the other homes so it a great place to sit and just enjoy the peace and quiet.

Beech Grove School was built in 1903 since the smaller Cataloochee School was not big enough to support all the children of the community. It sits just 250 feet off Cataloochee Entrance Road on a small, pretty, dirt path that leads to the white school house. As you walk to the end of the trail, there is an opening where you can see the school set back in the distance near the creek. You will be looking at the rear of the church. Palmer Creek rushes by close to the front entrance. The school consists of two rooms with old fashioned desks and chalkboards. The large windows provided the light needed for teaching. All of the children from the area went here. They only went to school for a few months out of the year so the students could help their families in the fields. They usually went from November – January and if there was enough funding, they could continue going through March.

The original school became too small or the growing Cataloochee community so the people of the area, sent a delegation consisting of George and Hiram Caldwell and Steve Woody to Evansville, NC to request a larger school. They were denied as the officials said they didn’t pay enough taxes. On the way home, the three defeated men, bought and drank a bottle of whiskey. It was then they decided to take action. They went to the school, took out all the furnishings, and burnt it down. Then they went back to the officials and told them the school burnt down. The government had no choice but to agree to build another school since North Carolina had a mandatory attendance law. So they got their new school after all.

Palmer Chapel Methodist Church was constructed in 1898 on land that was donated by Mary Ann Palmer. It is located at the end of the paved portion of Cataloochee Entrance Road. This was the only church in Big Cataloochee but they only had services once a month since the community was too small to keep a full time preacher. The church’s front door faces the nearby Palmer Creek and has a beautiful split rail fence up near the road. The church is open and still has all the pews, and the pulpit. Every year, on the second Sunday in August, they have a huge reunion for the families that were forced from Big and Little Cataloochee and their relatives. They only didn’t meet in 1942, 1943, and 1945 because of the gas rations during WWII and 2020 because of Covid. They have had as many as 1000 people and as few people on some years of just over 300 people. They have a lovely picnic, a ceremony where the church bell tolls once for each native or family member that died the year before, and lots of song. It gives the relatives of the original founders of the area to get to know each other and learn about their history by sharing stories.

Palmer House is located just off Cataloochee Creek Road and was originally built as a log cabin by George “Turkey” Lafayette Palmer around 1860. He was a stately looking man with an impressive mustache where his wife, Alice Caldwell Palmer looked to be a serious, proper sort wearing her hair pulled up in a bun. The house was later renovated from 1900 to 1905 during a time when the Palmer’s were prospering. This house was built as two separate structures side by side with a common roof over both. This style home is called a “dog trot”. Georges’ son, Jarvis added weatherboarding and did other renovations in 1924. It is a very well kept home. In the newer white section of the home is now a museum that has pictures of the area and tells a little about the descendants who once lived here. The yellow area of the building was the original structure. This home also features rooms that have old newspapers that was pasted on the walls as wallpaper. At one time, the white section of the house before it was a museum, was a post office.

The Palmer Barn is a three story barn. It was built in 1902 and was recently renovated. They built a timber bridge, replaced a 26’ section of a sill, support posts, and select siding as well as other structural improvements. At the same time, the Palmer house got a new shake roof. The Palmer Barn is quite the site to see and give great views of the Palmer House.

How did the people survive in this remote area, you ask. They raised livestock on the fertile lands as it was great pasture lands for their cattle, sheep, and hogs. Over 95% of the households in Cataloochee made their own whiskey for their personal use. They felt it was medicinal to help with their ailments and to help them along after a long day in the fields. There were apple orchards making apples very abundant and a great cash crop in the 20th century. While the men were working the fields the women were raising their children, keeping house, and making meals for their families. Tourism became a thing when people heard about the good hunting and fishing in this area. Many of the residents would rent out rooms to make a little extra money. It was not an easy life but was one that they loved. It must have been so hard for them to leave this amazing land.

The name Cataloochee came from the Cherokee name Gad-a-lu-tsi which means “standing up in ranks”. Ranks probably referred to the trees along the tops of the surrounding mountains. Later, the white settlers called it Cataloochee and more often than not, just “Catalooch”. This gorgeous land was once inhabited by the Cherokee Indians who gave up their claim to the Smokies when they signed the Treaty of Holston in 1791. The original settlers to this region had good relations with the Indians with many locals knowing the Cherokee language. Many settlers helped the Indians by providing aid to them while some hid in the forest during the Trail of Tears era.

Cataloochee is a spectacular area nestled between 6000 foot mountain peaks in the NE section of the park and is a great place to relax and take in the beauty of one of the most scenic areas in the Great Smoky Mountains. It also boosts of great fishing and stunning trails to hike. This remote area is a must see while in the Smokies located just 70 miles from Asheville. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park itself is the most visited national park in the United States and covers 816 square miles or 522,427 acres and is almost evenly divided between North Carolina and Tennessee.

If you are ever in the area, check it out. It may become a part of your heart and soul like it has for us. Till next time. Bye for now.