Independent But Not Isolated

Rich Mountain Road near the Missionary Baptist Church gave the first settlers access into Cades Cove. Originally a Cherokee path, it was eventually widened into a wagon road. By the mid-1800s, five roads led into and out of the Cove—Crib Gap Road, Rich Mountain Road, Cooper Road, Rabbit Creek Road, and Parsons Branch Road—compared to only one or seasonally two routes open to two-way traffic today. These roads gave Cove families opportunities for commerce and for social and political interaction. A post office was established in the cove in 1830, and residents picked up their mail there until 1904, when home delivery began. John W. Oliver served as the Cove's first mail carrier, practiced scientific agriculture, and worked to improve health care and education in his community.

Tennessee · United States