Oconaluftee (Great Smoky Mountains) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Oconaluftee Archeological District
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View of the Oconaluftee River within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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 Location in North Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Nearest city | Cherokee, North Carolina |
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| Area | 383 acres (155 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 82001715 |
| Added to NRHP | February 19, 1982 |
The Oconaluftee is a beautiful valley in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. It's named after the Oconaluftee River that flows through it. Long ago, it was home to a Cherokee village and later a community of settlers. Today, it's the main way to enter Great Smoky Mountains National Park from North Carolina.
The Oconaluftee valley stretches from a place called Smokemont in the north down to the Qualla Boundary. This boundary is a special area, often called Cherokee, North Carolina. It's a reserve for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a Native American tribe.
Inside the national park, the Oconaluftee area has a Visitor Center, Mingus Mill, and the Mountain Farm Museum. A big part of this area is known as the Oconaluftee Archaeological District. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 because of its important history.
Contents
What is the Oconaluftee Valley like?
Close to Newfound Gap, many small streams join together to form Beech Flats Prong. This stream flows south, dropping a lot of height over 10 miles (16 km). It then meets other streams to create the Oconaluftee River. The Oconaluftee River continues south, forming a valley between two large mountain areas.
Near the park's edge, the river joins Raven Fork, which makes the valley wider and flatter. After passing through Cherokee, the river turns west. It eventually flows into the Tuckasegee River near Bryson City.
How old are the rocks in Oconaluftee?
The rocks under the Oconaluftee area are some of the oldest in the Eastern United States. These rocks are mostly a type of granite called gneiss. They formed over a billion years ago from layers of ocean mud and melted rocks.
Higher up in the Oconaluftee Valley, you'll find different rocks. These are metamorphic rocks that formed almost 400 million years ago. They were pushed up when the North American and African continents crashed into each other. This event created the Appalachian Mountains.
A special line called the Greenbrier Fault runs through the Oconaluftee River. It separates these very old rocks from the younger ones. You can see both types of rocks along U.S. Route 441 between Newfound Gap and Cherokee.
What is the history of Oconaluftee?
Early Cherokee history
The Cherokee people believed the waters of the Oconaluftee were sacred. A local woman named Dora Woodruff Cope shared a Cherokee legend. She said there was a special part of the river called "Where the bears wash." All animals came there to heal their wounds. Only animals knew how to find it, and diving in meant instant healing.
The name "Oconaluftee" comes from the Cherokee word Egwanulti, which means "by the river." An early explorer wrote about it in 1775. For a long time, no one knew exactly where the original Cherokee village was. However, archaeological digs have found signs of a Cherokee settlement inside the national park, north of the Qualla Boundary. This was likely the only permanent Cherokee village within the park's current borders. It was probably destroyed in 1776 during the American Revolutionary War.
Who were the 19th-century settlers?
John Jacob Mingus was the first European-American settler in the Oconaluftee valley. He arrived in the 1790s. He bought land from Felix Walker, who was a land dealer. Mingus's family stayed in the area until the national park was created.
Other settlers followed, like Abraham Enloe and Isaac Bradley. In 1831, Enloe and William Holland Thomas started the Oconaluftee Turnpike Company. They made the Indian Gap Trail wider so wagons could reach saltpeter mines on Mount Le Conte.
William Holland Thomas was a white man adopted by a Cherokee chief. He helped the Cherokee people with their business. He bought the Qualla Boundary land for the tribe. This land became the main part of the reserve for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee. After a treaty in 1835 ordered Cherokees to leave their eastern lands, Thomas argued that the Oconaluftee Cherokees were North Carolina citizens. Because of this, the treaty did not apply to them. In 1868, the Eastern Band was recognized as a separate tribe.
What happened in the 20th century?
In the late 1800s, new tools like the band saw and logging railroads made logging very popular. Companies like Three M Lumber Company and Champion Fibre Company cut down many trees in the Oconaluftee valley. Later, the land was bought for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1930s. In 1925, a huge forest fire swept through the area, burning much of the southern slopes of the Smokies.
After the national park was set up, a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was built at Smokemont. Workers from the CCC built roads and trails. In 1937, the CCC restored Mingus Mill, a large water-powered gristmill. In the 1950s, old log buildings were moved to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center area. This created the Mountain Farm Museum, which shows what pioneer life was like.
What can you see in Oconaluftee today?
Today, you can visit historic sites near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center. There's also a large campground at Smokemont, where the logging camp used to be. The southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway is also in the valley.
A 20-mile (32 km) part of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail connects Oconaluftee to the Appalachian Trail near the top of Kuwohi. Other trails like the Bradley Fork Trail let you explore the beautiful nature.
In 1982, the Oconaluftee area was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It's known as the Oconaluftee Archaeological District.
Mingus Mill
Mingus Mill was built in 1886 by Sion Thomas Early for John Mingus. It took Early three months and cost $600. The mill sold flour and cornmeal until the National Park Service bought it in 1934. It was fixed up in 1937, closed during World War II, and reopened in 1968.
Water from Mingus Creek is sent through a special channel and a wooden flume. This water turns two turbines that power the mill. These turbines connect to grindstones on the first floor. They also power a wheat cleaner and a sifter on the second floor.
First, wheat or corn goes up to the wheat cleaner. This machine uses a fan to remove dirt. Then, the clean grain drops down to the grindstones. The grindstones break the grain into flour or cornmeal. The flour then goes back up to the second floor. There, a sifter separates the flour into different types using special cloths.
The mill's turbine was very efficient. It didn't need as much water as other types of water wheels. It made about 11 horsepower (8.2 kW) of power. Aden Carver, who helped build the mill in 1886, also helped restore it in 1937 when he was in his 90s.
Oconaluftee Visitor Center
The first visitor center at Oconaluftee was built in 1940. It was a ranger station and a courtroom. It became a "temporary" visitor center in 1947 and stayed that way for a long time!
In 2011, a new visitor center was built in just two months. The Great Smoky Mountains Association paid three million dollars for the buildings. Friends of the Smokies also donated over half a million dollars for the exhibits inside. No government money was used for this project. The center and restrooms are open all year. The old building is now used for park offices.
Mountain Farm Museum
Next to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is the Mountain Farm Museum. This museum is a collection of old log buildings brought from different parts of the park. It shows what a typical mountain farm looked like for pioneer settlers in Appalachia. Gardens are planted in spring and summer, and farm animals roam around.
Some of the buildings at the Mountain Farm Museum include:
- The John Davis Cabin: Built in 1900, this cabin was moved from Indian Creek. It's made of chestnut logs.
- The Enloe Barn: Built around 1880 by Joseph Enloe, Abraham Enloe's grandson. This large barn held animals downstairs and grain upstairs. It's the only building that was originally in Oconaluftee, moved only 200 yards (180 m) from its first spot. Its roof has over 16,000 hand-split shingles.
- The Messer Applehouse: Built by Will Messer from Cataloochee. This building was partly underground to keep apples cool in summer and warm in winter.
- A Meathouse: Moved from Cataloochee. Farmers built a small fire inside to smoke and cure meat, usually pork.
- The Baxter/Jenkins Chickenhouse: Built in the late 1800s. It was used to protect chickens from wild animals.
- A Blacksmith Shop: Built around 1900 and moved from Cades Cove.
- A Springhouse: Moved from Cataloochee. Farmers used it like a refrigerator to keep food cool.
- Two Corn Cribs: Built around 1900 and moved from Thomas Divide. These were used to store corn.
Other buildings include a hog pen, a sorghum press (for making syrup), an ash hopper (for making soap), a woodshed, and traditional fences.
Oconaluftee Indian Village
The Oconaluftee Indian Village is run by the Cherokee Historical Association. It's located on the slopes of Rattlesnake Mountain within the Cherokee reserve. This outdoor museum is a copy of a typical Cherokee village from the mid-1700s.
Images for kids
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Historical marker
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Mingus Mill and flume
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Water flowing from the flume
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Wooden building housing Mingus Mill
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Operational grist mill
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Upper level of mill
See also
In Spanish: Oconaluftee para niños
