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"A
Sunny October's Day at the Primitive Baptist Church" in
Cades Cove
- by Steve Norris
Autumn in the Smokies is a time of overcast skies, cool
comfortable air and easy walking amongst the falling leaves. But
when the clouds part and the sun shines through, the colors of
fall burst out as bright and varied as a mountain rainbow. This
church is surrounded by maples, oaks and poplars with a
sprinkling of evergreens in the background. This combination
makes for a particularly impressive autumn display, usually
running mid to late October. The sunken gravel road leading to
the church is lined with tall stately hardwoods and hemlocks
that provide the perfect framing for photographs and beautiful
paintings like this one.
This square little church building demonstrates the spirit and
lifestyles of Cades Cove in days gone by – simplicity and
function. The settlers of the cove made everything they needed
for daily living, so there was little or no spare time and
resources for the niceties that we would take for granted today.
All the churches of Cades Cove have steeples, each with a stout
iron bell that was rung before the start of Sunday morning
services decades ago. So the only real attempt at any visual
accent would be found in the steeple housing. The pot-bellied
wood burning stove used to heat the building was stationed in
the center, thus necessitating the chimney poking through the
middle of the roof.
Steve has spent many hours hiking around this little church
building over the years. The tall trees have a great canopy of
leaves that keeps ground cover to a minimum, thus allowing for
effortless walking through the woods. Recently when making an
afternoon sojourn behind it, Steve was confronted by the largest
black bear he had ever seen in the Smokies. Luckily for Steve,
the big brute was well fed and wasn’t looking for a meal.
Steve likes to add little mountain critters in his paintings.
Though they are small, the raccoon and the cottontail are easy
to find in this colorful painting.
As to this church’s history, some of the cove’s earliest
settlers established this church in 1827. A log building was
used for the services until this one was built in 1887. The
church closed during the civil war. The church journal wrote
after the war: “We the Primitive Baptist Church in Blount County
in Cades Cove do show the public why we have not kept up our
church meeting. It was on account of the Rebellion and we was
Union people and the Rebels was too strong here in Cades Cove.
Our preacher was obliged to leave sometimes, and thank God we
once more can meet.”
Much of the Cove’s history lies silent behind the church. In the
cemetery lie Olivers, Gregorys, Shields, Anthonys and others who
first populated the Cove.
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