More Great Smoky MountainsMay 20, 2010
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Grist Mill
Smoky Mountains
Creek on hike
| I spent all day today in Great Smoky Mountain National Park. I drove the main road that cuts through the park. Near the visitor center on the other side is the Mountain Farm Museum, a collection of farm buildings assembled from early settlements throughout the park. They have a log farmhouse, barn, apple house, springhouse, and a working blacksmith shop to get an idea of how families might have lived 100 years ago. Most of the buildings were built in the late 19th century and were moved here in the 1950s. The Davis House is a log house built from chestnut wood before the chestnut blight ruined the American Chestnut in our forests during the 1930s and early 1940s. Near the visitor center is Mingus Mill. Built in 1886, this grist mill uses a water-powered cast iron turbine instead of a water wheel to power all of the machinery in the building. It was pretty unique at the time and is still running it its original location. In addition to the longer hiking trails the park has quite a few short hikes they call Quiet Walkways. Some of them are great little hikes along creeks. I did two of those today too. |
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