Townsend in Blount County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)
An Early Mountain Community
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 7, 2012
1. An Early Mountain Community Marker
In the early 1900s family farms covered the valley. Self-sufficiency was the rule in those days, but most people made use of the mill, the country store, and the blacksmith shop. The buildings assembled here represent part of a typical mountain community.
Cable Mill is the only building on its original site. The Park Service constructed the blacksmith shop. Other buildings came from sites within the park.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 35° 35.111′ N, 83° 50.597′ W. Marker is in Townsend, Tennessee, in Blount County. It can be reached from Cades Cove Loop Road west of Parson Branch Road, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, near the Cades Cove Visitor Center. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Townsend TN 37882, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee, in the Great Smoky Mountains, and in Greater Knoxville. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Upper South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, the State of Franklin, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 9 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Civilian Conservation Corps (approx. 1.8 miles away); Independent But Not Isolated (approx. 1.8 miles away); Tuckaleechee Villages (approx. 7.3 miles away); Montvale Springs (approx. 7½ miles away); The Little River Lumber Company (approx. 8.2 miles away);
this page online
Another marker is no longer nearby. Early Tollgate (was approx. 7.7 miles away but has been permanently removed).
More about this marker. A picture of the historic buildings on this site appear on the marker. These include the Blacksmith Shop, Cantilever Barn, Flume to Gristmill, John Cable Mill, Gregg-Cable House (residence / boarding house / store), Smokehouse, Corn Crib and Gear Shed, and Sorghum Furnace and Mill.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 7, 2012
2. An Early Mountain Community Marker
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 7, 2012
3. Gregg-Cable House and Smokehouse
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 7, 2012
4. John P. Cable Grist Mill
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, August 7, 2012
5. Barn and Corn Crib
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on August 16, 2012, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 1,016 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 16, 2012, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey.
