Daisy Town is situated between the Jakes Creek trailhead parking area and the Appalachian Clubhouse. Standing on the porch of the Appalachian Clubhouse, you have a view of all of the 16 preserved cabins and can imagine what life may have been like for those early tourists to the area.

Downhill from the clubhouse is “Daisy Town,” which consists of 16 restored structures. The cabins were built from 1910-1915 by well-known families from Knoxville. Uphill from here is “Society Hill”— these cabins were built between 1912-1922. The David Chapman House, built by one of the leaders of the national park movement, is the only cabin preserved. Back down the road you just walked up, the Spence Cabin (1928) is preserved in an area known as “Millionaires Row.” Other cabins in this area were built mid-1920s to mid-1930s.   “There was a boardwalk to the last cottage. People who arrived by train up the river from Townsend had their luggage hauled by cart from the [train] station [platform]. Each Saturday night there would be an orchestra with dancing at the clubhouse.”  The wooden boardwalk mentioned in the quote extended from the clubhouse up to Society Hill and on to Chapman’s cabin. It was replaced in 1928 with the gravel walkway you see today. The clubhouse served three meals a day. Listen closely and try to imagine hearing bells ringing as the clubhouse staff  “called” folks to dinner. The community always dressed in their best clothes as they walked the path towards the Appalachian Club. Daily activities included hunting, fishing, horse riding, swimming, and socializing.

Black and white image of residents standing at the Appalachian Club Depot

Appalachian Club Depot

Location

Significance

Cabins and Daily Life

As you stand near the parking area for the Jakes Creek trailhead facing south, the historic area known as Daisy Town is in front of you. This is the site of many early tourism cabins that have recently been rehabilitated by the park's preservation staff.

Welcome to Daisy Town, home to the historic Appalachian Club that was chartered in the early 1900s by prominent men mainly from the Knoxville, Tennessee area. These included industrialists, politicians, lawyers, artists, professors, and businessmen, among others. W.B. Townsend, owner of the Little River Lumber Company, became a member and leased logging land to the club to create a hunting and fishing camp. Soon after, Knoxville families began building vacation homes along Jakes Creek. Between 1910 and 1935, almost 80 cabins were built. Before 1925, families arrived by trains (a 3-hour trip) operated by the lumber company. When the logging operations in the area ended in 1925, the railroad tracks were removed, and families began driving their cars to their vacation cabins. The tourist season typically stretched from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Cabin owners brought trunks of clothes and supplies to stay the entire summer. Many would also bring their servants to care for the children.  “Some brought a servant with them, usually Black women who developed their own social life in the mountains. Often, they had a separate house behind the main cabin.”

Black and white image of a cabin built in 1910

Andrews Cabin, built in 1910

Daisy Town: The Birth of Tourism in the Smokies

Sitting a half mile from the road in a more remote area of the loop is a 1.5-acre lot containing the Elijah Oliver homestead. Leading up to the homestead is a half mile gravel path surrounded by trees. The main cabin is a one- and one-half story log cabin that is approximately 50 feet long and 17 feet wide. The foundation of the cabin is stone, and the walls of the cabin are hewn logs that have been stacked on top of each other with dried mud in between. Behind the cabin, there is a small 12 x 10-foot log building that was used as a smokehouse. In front of the cabin are two log structures. The bigger structure was once the Oliver’s barn. The smaller log structure with a longer length, small spaces in between the logs, and a 20 x 28-inch entrance was the corn crib. At the back of the property there is a small stream where the smallest of the outbuildings, a springhouse, is located. The homestead is surrounded by trees and grass.

Elijah Oliver was born in 1824 to John and Lucretia Oliver. Although he spent most of his life living in the cove, he did leave during the Civil War, relocating to Tuckaleechee Cove to escape attacks from Confederate supporters and rebel groups out of North Carolina. Attacks were devastating for the Cades Cove community. In 1850, Cades Cove had over 600 settlers, but the population plummeted to under 300 in the war era. Many settlers returned, but it took time for Cades Cove to recover to pre-war population levels. Elijah and his family did return to Cades Cove after the war and bought property in 1865 for a farmstead. The cabin that Elijah Oliver’s family lived in was a dog trot style cabin which consists of two cabins that were connected by a breezeway and shared a common roof. Along with the dog trot style cabin, Elijah Oliver’s homestead would eventually include a corn crib, smokehouse, springhouse, and barn. The springhouse was built over a trickling spring to ensure clean water for the family. The spring’s cool temperature was also harnessed to extend the life of perishables such as eggs, milk, and butter. The springhouse is a unique feature since it is the only one remaining in the cove. Another unique feature of the Elijah Oliver place is the stranger room. This room is located off the front porch and was built to house overnight visitors. The room allowed the family to accommodate visitors, but in an area separate from the family’s space. Stranger rooms were fairly common in the cove. The hospitable spirit that inspired their existence endures into modern times as visitors come to enjoy the stories and the legacies of the settlers that once lived here.

A nineteenth century cabin sits on 1.5-acre lot surrounded by trees.

Elijah Oliver Cabin

The Elijah Oliver place is a farmstead made up of multiple nineteenth century buildings in the west end of the loop. It is a 0.5 mile walk from Cades Cove Loop Road. Parking for the Elijah Oliver Place can be found just past Cooper Road Trailhead.

Elijah Oliver Place

A two-story log structure stands in a grassy clearing with a split-rail fence surrounding a large, forested area beyond. Covered porches extend from the east and west-facing sides of the cabin. Nine flat logs are stacked- each roughly a foot and a half tall. A dried mud “chinking” layer is between each log. Above the stacked logs on the north and south sides of the cabin, roughly fourteen thin boards are stacked and taper in length as they approach the apex of the roof. Hundreds of thin wood shingles cover the roof. A stone chimney stands on the south side of the cabin. There are three entrances to the cabin, one on each porch and one on the uncovered north side.

The John Oliver cabin is the first historic structure on the 11-mile Cades Cove driving loop. It is also the oldest. John, Lucretia, and their young daughter, Mary “Polly,” arrived and began settling in Cades Cove in 1818. Although the Olivers were the first permanent European-American settlers, Cherokee peoples had lived in this area for thousands of years. The Cherokee were present at the time of the Olivers’ arrival and had an active settlement. According to Lucretia Oliver, the family survived their first winter only because of the generosity of the Cherokee who provided them with food. John Oliver was a War of 1812 veteran and collier (charcoal maker) by trade. He lived in neighboring east Tennessee counties before the prospect of settlement in Cades Cove came to be. The cove was different in 1818 from how it looks today. When the Olivers arrived, it had not yet been extensively cleared for agriculture and was densely forested except for the west end of the cove which was swampland. The Olivers decided to settle on the drier east end of the cove. A well was dug for a reliable water source as the neighboring creek often dries in the summer. Fields were cleared for planting wheat and corn. Cattle were kept along nearby Abrams Creek. A barn with grain storage was constructed. A second cabin, the one that still stands today, was built in the 1820s just a few dozen yards from the original cabin (not standing today). A kitchen was added to the present cabin but has since been removed by the National Park Service. Generations of Olivers lived on the homestead until the park was established over a hundred years later. Several descendants, including Elijah Oliver, branched out and settled elsewhere in Cades Cove, a testament to the family’s ties to this fertile valley.

Simple log cabin surrounded by a split-rail fence with a mountain landscape in the background.

John Oliver Cabin

The John Oliver cabin is the first historic structure visitors come across on the 11-mile Cades Cove driving loop.

John Oliver Place

Standing in the parking lot at the trailhead for the Elkmont Nature Trail, a faint gap in the forest reveals the former location of the railroad that made the first leg of the "Y" that allowed the train to make a U-turn.

Have you ever wondered how a train makes a “U” turn?  A historic logging train consisted of a locomotive, coal car, and up to eight logging cars, making it almost 600 feet long (about 183 meters; roughly two football fields). With a single track and mountain terrains, it was not easy to turn one of these trains around. To address this, the logging companies developed the “turning Y” to allow trains to return easily and safely to Townsend. Today, we consider this a “three-point turn.” From a birds-eye view of this spot 100 years ago, you would see an upside-down “Y". The parking lot at the beginning of the nature trail is one “leg” of the “Y". You can see the other leg on the nature trail to the right after you cross the wooden bridge.   The train maneuvered past the “Y", backed up one leg which extended over a mile, then returned via the other leg, thus turning the train in the opposite direction.  A “Y” is sometimes spelled “wye," and many were located throughout the logging areas of the Smokies. That is how the Townsend Wye got its name.

Black and white drawing that illustrates an aerial view of a historic train "wye"

"Wye" Conceptual Drawing

The Train "Wye"

Ridge upon ridge of forest straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. World renowned for its diversity of plant and animal life, the beauty of its ancient mountains, and the quality of its remnants of Southern Appalachian mountain culture, this is America's most visited national park. Plan your visit today!