It is very sad that this happened, they should have let them stay there until they passed. But I am glad that the government stepped in and preserved some resemblance of our mountains. If they hadn’t, Cades Cove would now be covered in strip malls and hotels, Elkmont would be covered in condos. Every ridge would be covered with million dollar homes owned by people not from here. Just look at Gattlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Wears Valley and the mountains on the North Carolina side. I am glad the made the park.
I've been liking and listening for a long time. I just noticed that I wasn't getting notifications on stories. I didn't subscribe that's why. I over looked it. I have now subscribed!!
Imminent domain touched my family and my grandfather's farm is now under 45 foot of water in a resivoir. Family graves were disinterred and moved to a cemetery overlooking the water. Without the farm, their childten scattered, and now few remember where it all began. Sad, indeed, and thank you JD for telling of this plight against the ones that called that ground home.
Makes me so mad. I'd rather walk up on a cabin porch and talk to good folks, hear and see the beauty first hand than drive through looking out a car window. I bet the land cried when the left too.
Hey JD I can relate to this story. When I was a kid the place where we lived between Bluefield and Princeton WVa. was bought out by a water management company. There were thousands of acres bought for a dam and park project. All of the valleys and hollors were flooded with water. Loosing a lot of farm and dairy land. It was sad to see the water cover all these places, It was all gone in about 3 years, not even a trace was visible. I think that was back in 1964-65 when I got back from Vietnam in 1968 nothing looked the same there. SAD but TRUE. I am 76 years old and I still miss it.
Oh this story made me almost cry. I moved to Maryville in 1994. And the history that I have learned by listening to your channel has made me love these mountains more than before. Thank you.
My grandfather who was born in 1889 said that the main function of the government was to stay out of his business. I agree with him. It didn't take long for our government to do the same things that our founding fathers fought Britain over and it's only gotten worse.
My heart ❤️ went out to Amos and Mary. The beautiful hillsides, mountains, and landscapes that were passed down through generations. Is such a blessing to many today. Thank you, Sarah, and JD . For sharing the story of the appalachian people and their sacrifice, they made for our enjoyment. God bless . Happy 4th to you and yours.
The government did the exact same thing here in the Ozark mountains in Southern Missouri on the current & jacks fork River. Come in and forced people off their land. A dang shame
My mom’s folks are from these mountains many years ago; they lived there for hundreds and hundreds of years. They rounded most of em up and moved them to Oklahoma on the ‘trail where they cried.’ But they were t compensated back in the removal, 1838-39. At least the Eastern Band was able to finally be recognized as such. So y’all need to see the bigger picture as well: this all was Cherokee home.
Makes one heartsick! God bless those precious mountain folks!! Know how they feel! Our people were thrown off their land and given just a few cents an acre!! Now known as Brown County State Park in Indiana.
@@dormiacrouch1905 That’s terrible! I’ve lived in Indiana most of my life and never knew that! I’m sorry your people lost their homes! That area is so beautiful. I know they were devastated.
Cades cove is special to me . Many of my family are buried there. Tipton’s Jobe’s Garlands Shields my ggg grandmother Elizabeth Caroline Garland Wilson. When I go there I’m filled with emotion because I feel the sadness of having to leave such a place of beauty. Thanks for your videos
I've never been to Appalachia or lived there. But I cried at this. The government is greedy and these poor people lost their opportunity to share it with their decendants and it rips my heart out
🎉 Have a Blessed and happy 4th of July y'all!!! Stay safe!! Much gratitude to all of our lawmen,medics, and all branches of service men and women where ever you are protecting us Americans and America!!
Thank you for sharing this story. I have often pondered how all those little towns and the people whos lives for generations lived in the areas that now encompass the Blue ridge parkway and smokie mountains Ntnl park. All those families and memories and communities that were flug far and wide… it pains me to think of all that was lost.
Apparently 7 to 8 million dollars worth of Caterpillar earth moving equipment is presently parked exactly where my old house once stood facing the road with a $10,000 front yard. 14 years of blood and sweat ended in 30 days with tears.
Amen brother! Years after this my families on both sides lost all their land and heritage the same way to the park district at Pine Mountain state park in Kentucky.
I feel so guilty for staying in the Smokey Mountains knowing now that so many lost their homes and livelihoods 😞 I went on the tourist drive that you showed and it was a waste of my time. Worse than city traffic. If anyone reads this, please purchase the book! Absolutely wonderful!
Sad, but, True story that Most people in this country share in one way or another. This should unite us whether Indigenous people or Scotch- Irish, or any Working Class displaced by Gentrification! Thanks J.D. ☮️
@@theappalachiachannel I appreciate your outstanding channel, I had tears in my eyes at the end of the story. It hurt me deeply for the wonderful people whose lives were forever changed. Not to be able to sit on their front porch anymore breathing in the fragrant night air and hearing the crickets, watching the lightening bugs. Or to gaze out on the beloved hills watching God's hand working with the changing of the seasons. A treasured way of life passed down from one generation to the next, soon bypassed and forgotten. Thank God for awesome storyteller's, such as yourself. People need to remember and respect those who have carved a way of life, with their bare hands, built homes, planted gardens, tended livestock all while raising families. Their way of life, erased! Stolen by the government! All in the name of progress, AKA greed.
I have been to Cave's Cove a bunch of times, me and my whole family loves it there, even my nephew was named after Cade's Cove. It was sure sorry of the way the government took the land from those pure folks. Thank you for sharing with us today and God bless you and your whole family...🙏🙏🙏
I've known this story most of my life and it still makes me cry... I wouldn't want to live anywhere else either... but on the other hand, it's better that our beautiful mountains are preserved for others to enjoy than for developers to come in and destroy it... Thanks for sharing this with the world 😎👍❤️ Have you done a story about Loyston and Norris Lake?
Yes I have, actually I’m sitting in my camper on the shores of Norris lake as I type this. I have a spot from March til November at loyston point campground
@@theappalachiachannelExcellent! We went to the lake when it was really, really low and walked around stone steps and remnants of fireplaces...it made me sad that this is the cost of progress. 🙁❤ Is the video on this channel?
@@KathysTube No, it's on the Appalachian Storyteller. This channel is about stories my father writes, and The Appalachian Storyteller is documentaries about historical events and people that my father writes. Thanks so much -Sarah
Same story for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. When you hike the Park you can still find small abandoned family cemetery plots that were left behind.
Great video and a good piece of history. Do you think some of the folks moved further up in the mountains and stayed? Just food for thought. Thanks for sharing this. Your channel member Jaguar.
Shoulda put the warning up for that one....'will need tissues for tears'. The NPS stole land along the Delaware River in NY, NJ & PA for the Tocks Island Dam to supply water to NYC & Philly. After they stole the land, which included many old homesteads, the project was abandoned due to the land not being suitable for a dam. Of course the gov kept the 72,000 acres. I'm in Amos' camp...the Never Give Up Gang. Much love JD, have a Blessed day❤
I love driving through the cades cove loop but had no idea the history behind the town and what became of it in the way it did. Saddened for their loss but I appreciate the sacrifices they made so we could enjoy it for the rest of its time on earth. But man… if the government don’t overstep its boundaries 24/7
"Land stolen from them," you stated. Story made me mad, sick at my stomach and crying. The whole time, I'm thinking of the Native Americans, Trail of Tears and how the government still SCREWS them. 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
Elkmont was mostly doctors, dentists and lawyers. It was a resort/vacation town after the lumber company moved out. It was Cades Cove that suffered at the hands of the park service. Some of that land was sold out from under the residents at 30 cents an acre.
That is absolutely heartbreaking! I had no idea. I believe I may never go to another National Park again. My fiancé doesn’t want to buy a house. He has always said that we won’t ever really own it, because the government will just take it if they want to and there’s nothing that can be done. Well… they stole the land from the Native Americans. What’s going to stop them from stealing land from everyone else?!
I knew about this history. Its heartbreakin that the government took these people lands that had lived there for generations just like that gentleman said what about our heritage. It is heartbreakin
The same thing happened to some of my people's land. It is now under Norris Lake, the area flooded to make a place for the dam. Most graves were removed and buried elsewhere, but some of my people's bones rest under the lake.
“So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.” Proverbs Chapter 1 verse 19. I know it happened to me too.Clipped for $90,000. NC DOT. It’s been 10 years now but you never forget it. Never.
Unfortunately, this is just like the government to tell you how things can be better to make youfeel like you’ve have choice and then just turn around and tell you this is the way it’s gonna be and you have no choice. It’s so sad. They didn’t even have opportunity to dispute the amount that was paid to them for their land. They just received a check in the mail and had to accept it.
Every time I go to Cades Cove, I tear up thinking of the people being forced from their homes. It is heartbreaking and should be illegal - not that that would stop them.
" Give them hell till the end".......If the American people don't stand their ground they will not have a ground No Country we are all most there..........May GOD have mercy on us all What happened to the government working for its people
I don’t understand why they didn’t take the money from the government and buy another plot of beautiful land instead of going to the city. I live in Tennessee and it is so beautiful here and Land for everyone especially back then. 😢
Stick with me, I dyslexically weave my to my point. They're doing the same thing still; people in western NC, where my family has reaided for over 250+ yrs, are still missing. Those who survived the storm and 30' walls of water are being prevented from even staring the process of rebuilding through rezoning via "green zones" & new "flood planes" in areas that have never flooded in recorded history. Those who live in the valleys along the creeks and rivers have experienced small flooding, and even the generational larger scale floods that would cause property damage and drownings but not so much in mass but a facility it two due to the sparcity of the population , not often, and certainly not with the most water to fall in one area for one storm on record. The tail numbers, flight number& pattern were obtained by Dane Wiggington during this recent disaster i won't name. At both pivotal times that storm turned from northwest to a hard eastern and northern arch the place entered the storm. It's not a difficult process and had been in use since 1946 and perfected by 1963 or so. Its not a theory, its a fact and the information is readily available if you know how to keyword search and dig. It was easier to find before this until the public began to awake to the reality of geoengineering, however many do not understand the absolute monsterous scale it is done on and that it is a much larger operation in rural areas that not only pushed our weather into what is termed the "drought deluge cycle" ,but the chemicals and elements used to perform this function such as aluminum barium oxide, silver iodide, sulfur dioxide, polymer have contaminated the air, the soil the water and in turn all these heavy metals and micro plastics get absorbed into the trees and is causing mass die offs of the forests and trees on general at varying speeds depending on the concentration in an area. Yet all trees soil and water are effected as this constant "engineering", literally constant as it is in the plan✈️-⛽. I farm crops for personal use and growing vegetables of all varieties has gone from hard period as it was made so after the Fall, to misery over the past 15-20 yrs with new invasive insects always "accidentally" released to the new more ravenous blights(which have too been around since the Fall) and the inability to fight the soils acidity due to the toxic rain. All this wraps into the powers perpetual battle on the people of Appalachia. A land unwanted by the rich and powerful until they envy the privacy of life in the hills valleys and mountainside homes. Then their true human nature emerges with the advent of a new in demand industry being lithium. Lithium will be the 21st century's Chesnut blight that will not have the mercy that the blight had in sparing anything but the American Chesnut, if you can call that mercy. Lithium mining will be the end of the smoky mountains and as it is found in other areas of Appalachia so too will the land and its people fall prey to the machine that ate freedom and land ownership that is the very top, very evil unseen unheard masters. There are plans to close the national parks to the public and then people altogether followed by complete restriction to humans save likely themselves or they will be stripped of their resources. This too is not fantasy or conjecture, it is fact through actions that were written about in their white papers before they have performed land grabs aka imminent domain. They have released articles by university "scientists" every single day for years on the need to engineer the sky to prevent "climate change" where in reality there not talking about it they have been doing it nationally on mass since 1994. Whereas before that date it was typically done in isolation. Other nations also practice this and it the actual cause of the weather patterns and greater disasters that we see today. Just like all great evil plans the responsibility and consequences are removed by the govt through going through private institutions that are removed from connection to who makes the decisions ro avoid acknowledging that they are responsible not necessarily creating storms, which theyve been capable of for 80 yrs, but altering them in whatever way they wish. It is a tool of destruction that has a desired result in places like the western nc where there is something they desire for the purpose of gaining more power. In today's time lithium is a faux necessity for modern life, in the time of the logging days of Appalachia that youve covered was the need for the rot resistant strong beautiful wood of the chesnut for homes and railroads. They demonize us who have lived along with creation as God made us to as they are the great destroyers of creation. I have documentation for all my statements of you ever want any of it which i doubt as most shrug off what theyre "lyin eyes" show them. However deciding to memory hole what you witness didn't make it not real and that is a concept in the age of emerging ai that most are unable to understand. At age 39 i have been receiving offers to buy the 50 acres left of my family's land for twenty years; we had 270 acres going back 250+ yrs since my forefathers settled there alongside the Cherokee and it was whittled away down to 50 by the time the SMNP finsihed swelling. Everything around the 5-10mile radius of my home was destroyed, roads homes churches businesses all gone save our small community unchanged since the 1900s practically. Only twenty miles or so from Asheville we are now rather isolated but as i am a believer in God and in being prepared for hard times which i knew were coming i am much better off and prepared than everyone i know here which creates many other problems in itself. It is very dangerous now and there are govt representatives prowling the mountainside looking to buy peoples land at insulting low offers to people who are momentarily desperate or just outright condemning property that got nothing more than a good soak. They are setting up the infrastructure to mine the entirety of western nc mountains. FEMA is not doing what they were claimed to have been desiged to do but doing what they have been doing since Katrina and that is diaplacing people against their will by any number of means, denying monetary assistance to everyone i know who applied, confiscating supplies brought to our area and relocating them to "migrant sanctuary towns & city" locations (documented through air tags & gps trackers placed in supplies by those who paid for them after intial claims and actual confiscations documented on video) Yes ive rambed, and yes i know you yourself know the plight of Appalachian mt folk as I believe you reside in TN mountains, probably not far from my stomping grounds by vehicle. But I've said all this just to reiterate a few truths: ¹The people of Appalachia have always been looked down upon not just by the cities and suburbs but in a great way by the ones who drove us into the hills in the first place being out leaders, and now they went is to leave bc they found something they went and they know just like the people of chimney rock, we will not trade generational land for treasure unless with some that they are given no other choice or as myself we will have to enter eternity with God before we leave our land ²A people who own their own land and are spread out among the mountains and forests who do not participate in farm subsidies(not that they were ever created for us) or other handouts and provide for ourselves and protect ourselves are a more difficult people to manipulate for their benefit ³The federal program of "Rewilding" that is documented and have created maps of where people will be allowed to live begining in 2030 with a goal of completion by 2050, that map shows no occupants in all of appalachia not already highly urbanized. Appalachia is not the only target of Rewilding, it is the greatest treasure and desire if this comingnew power that we are in the midst of transformation. It is this paradigm shift that will have a greater impact than the industrial revolution then times over. Think of the changes from 2003 to now, the year i graduated high school with not one of the 83 i graduated with opening a cell phone yet to now, and the technocratic revolution has onky begun. The mountains are preparing for one last scream and i pray daily that God will protect us and help us get through this unspeakable time. Thank you for what you do, you are in my prayers.
JD, you missed it on this one! Elkmont was never a mountain town of poor people! It was an enclave of well-to-do families from Knoxville who sought to escape that hot summer clime by building a resort hamlet in the mountains! They arrived on special trains from Knoxvilke at the beginning of the summer, stayed in charming Queen Anne ir Woodland inspired cottages, many of which had electricity and indoor plumbing! The sumner residents of Elkmont were far from poor! There was no scgool, for there was no summer term! Instead there was a recreation building (it is still standing) where the elite of the flatter country met to play games in the cool evenings, and they even dammed up the creek to create a lake for swimming and for an electric power plant! There was a lot of money in the timber that was being stripped from the mountains, and the town of Townsend itself was built by a timber baron named, you guessed it, Townsend! The Wonderland Hotel, at the entrance to the village if Elkmont, catered to wealthy guests from Knoxville and all over the country, operating until it became too expensive for the Park Service to maintain, at the end of the twentieth century. Elkmont was usually continuously inhabited by most of its homeowners well into the 1960s, when their family's lifetime leases began to expire. Many Knoxvillians have fond memories of spending summers and weekends at their grandparents' places in Elkmont. Many homes in Elkmont have been now lovingly and quite meticulously restored by the Park Service. Several are available for overnight guests. Elkmont remains a magical place of memories of a gentler time for new generations. Granted, the federal government did not always deal fairly with the mountain people in their "acquisition" of the Great Smoky Mountains. Just consider, though, what would we have today if they hadn't? A sprawling, exclusive subdivision, with the mountains deforested and leveled, theur great peaks paved over and their creeks forced to run beneath concrete? God forbid! I realize fully how hard it must have been to leave land owned for hundreds of years. I made the same difficult choice, myself, only my family had owned ours for five centuries, aside from the fact that, as a woman of strong American Indian ancestry, we were killed for land we had inhabited for more than 13,000 years! I know what you were trying to say with this story, dear friend, but it's a bit off course. By the way, did you know that the City of Gatlinburg's older name was "White Oak Flats.". I guess they thought nobody would want to vacation at a place called White Oak Flats! 😂 Still a big fan! Becca
Hi Becca! This is a fictional story I wrote, I’ve been to Elkmont many times and know the history you described, I’d also like to add that long before elkmont was a resort, it was actually a lumber camp operated by the Elkmont lumber company and that’s where the name came from, have a blessed day
As sad as this story is, we see what has happened in surrounding areas. Condos, hotels, amusement facilities, tourist stores now occupy the sites of what used to be mountain homesteads when the defendants could no longer afford to pay the taxes and sold out to investors who bulldozed the old home place and put in a parking lot for walmart. At least, wrong as it was, a small part of the heritage was preserved even if the way of life was not.
I was wondering...They're were some allowed to stay until the passed away. How did that come about. A relative of mine was one of the last to pass away. Kermit caughron.. that side of my family never shared any stories about the past. My grandfather lasted in 1984 at 95, he always lived in the Hartford/Cosby area. Do you know where I can find out , I know I've seen someone it before, just don't remember where. Maybe the old heartland series?
JD have you heard the stories park rangers tell about the feral people? It says they were run off when the parks were formed. They did not want to leave. The result is a dark secret of the forest service. No one is allowed to report these poor soul. They live out in the wild and are very savage.
I wasn't old enough to go to school when the men in their Booger Suits (men's dress suits, dress shoes, socks, white shirts, ties and hats) came to my fathers house to talk to Grandpa about his farm. They wanted Grandpa to donate a large part of his farm to build the new Clearfield School Building on. Grandpa didn't want to donate it or sell it. I was hiding under the Kitchen table by my Grandpa's knees. When one of the men talked about Grandma being in a State Hospital at the State's expense. I saw my Grandpa start to cry. Until that moment I did not know that men could cry (or that I had a Grandma). Someone started talking about killing Grandpa. "I came out from under the table and told those bad men to, "Go away!" I don't want to go to school!" They gave grandpa what they wanted to pay for the land and took it. The school is still on that same acreage. I attended that school from the 1st grade through the 8th grade. So did my brothers and sister. I did not get to see my Grandma until I was in the 5th grade. She was laying dead in her casket at Stucky's Funeral Home. If the government wants your property they will take it. This happened over 70 years ago. The new Clearfield School Building was brand new when I started 1st grade.
My folks come from the North Carolina hills and lived in Texas. My grandpa showed the blood that mountain folk have in there vanes. Pap was a drinking man up in to his 90s. My mother tried to get him put in a home she got the law after him saying he couldn't take care of his self . Well at 89 setting in a lazy boy he met the law on his front porch with a shotgun. Well they served him with papers to in front of the my judge to see if was fit to live alone. Well pap sobered up and went in front of the judge and won. After getting back home he went on a 2 week bender.
I feel their sadness but it did stop the beauty being destroyed when future generations would sell the land and leave the mountain looking for a better life. If the government hadn't turned it into a national park there would be WalMarts, McDonalds, Dollar stores all over the place and the trees would be long gone now too. But they should have given people the choice of new land instead of pennies for theirs. I would say JD the mountains cried again when the government allowed the coal companies to do mountain top removal and dump it in the rivers and streams. The government stole my grandfathers farm to build Route 66 by giving him pennies on the dollar. 😞
Every National Park has cost American Citizens of that land. They were displaced so the government could create a playground for City slickers. People who for the most part don't know where their milk comes from. Or the cost of the maintaining farm land or running a ranch.GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE OFTHE LAND🎉😂
I just don't get! Under the guise of "Imminent Domain" or "Manifest Destiny" what happens to all the livestock? Crops in the field? And my main question, what happens to the dead ancestors that are buried there and those that are still living that wish to buried alongside their departed mother and father?
@@theappalachiachannel I had no doubt that the cemeteries were still there. I just hope that relatives of the ones buried in them are allowed to be buried in them as well.
The National Parks are nice but I still feel it was wrong to force these homesteaders off their land, even with payment. This is a free country with freedom of choice about such things. I’m sure it caused many hard feelings against the federal government for many generations. I would have been one to want to stay on my land. I’m also of Scottish descent with family in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Mississippi. Other descendants of immigrant groups would have felt the same.
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It is very sad that this happened, they should have let them stay there until they passed. But I am glad that the government stepped in and preserved some resemblance of our mountains. If they hadn’t, Cades Cove would now be covered in strip malls and hotels, Elkmont would be covered in condos. Every ridge would be covered with million dollar homes owned by people not from here. Just look at Gattlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Wears Valley and the mountains on the North Carolina side. I am glad the made the park.
I've been liking and listening for a long time. I just noticed that I wasn't getting notifications on stories. I didn't subscribe that's why. I over looked it. I have now subscribed!!
@@FeralSheryl1818 Thank you!
Sounds an awful lot like what went on with the Natives around that time.
I can’t stop crying for their loss. I know how they feel. I lost my home and most of my belongings just 2 1/2 years ago. My heart breaks for them.
Imminent domain touched my family and my grandfather's farm is now under 45 foot of water in a resivoir. Family graves were disinterred and moved to a cemetery overlooking the water. Without the farm, their childten scattered, and now few remember where it all began. Sad, indeed, and thank you JD for telling of this plight against the ones that called that ground home.
Heartbreaking!
Today's government is still just as greedy.
Thank you for sharing this story of Appalachian history.
Thank you, lest we forget
Evermore4487 your right
Makes me so mad. I'd rather walk up on a cabin porch and talk to good folks, hear and see the beauty first hand than drive through looking out a car window. I bet the land cried when the left too.
I bet your right
There's a lesson America needs to be listening to.
amen
That’s about the saddest tale I’ve ever heard.. hurts my heart it does truly
Thank you John
Hey JD
I can relate to this story. When I was a kid the place where we lived between Bluefield and Princeton WVa. was bought out by a water management company. There were thousands of acres bought for a dam and park project. All of the valleys and hollors were flooded with water. Loosing a lot of farm and dairy land. It was sad to see the water cover all these places, It was all gone in about 3 years, not even a trace was visible. I think that was back in 1964-65 when I got back from Vietnam in 1968 nothing looked the same there. SAD but TRUE. I am 76 years old and I still miss it.
Thank you for sharing this, I was in Bluefield earlier this year, I didn't know the history you just shared.
Oh this story made me almost cry. I moved to Maryville in 1994. And the history that I have learned by listening to your channel has made me love these mountains more than before. Thank you.
Thank you!
My grandfather who was born in 1889 said that the main function of the government was to stay out of his business. I agree with him.
It didn't take long for our government to do the same things that our founding fathers fought Britain over and it's only gotten worse.
Amen
My heart ❤️ went out to Amos and Mary. The beautiful hillsides, mountains, and landscapes that were passed down through generations. Is such a blessing to many today. Thank you, Sarah, and JD . For sharing the story of the appalachian people and their sacrifice, they made for our enjoyment.
God bless . Happy 4th to you and yours.
Thank you Nonnie! Happy 4th
Heartbreaking, prayers for all who remember 🙏 💔
lest we forget...
My dad lived in Sevierville Tennessee until he passed. All those years driving through the Smokey Mountains and I had no idea. It's gut wrenching.
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Sad story, but should be told often. Our goverment will get way worse! Greed is an EVIL SIN!!!!
Amen
Sad. Nothing stays the same. 🌏 Thankyou, great film.
Thank you Lisa
The government did the exact same thing here in the Ozark mountains in Southern Missouri on the current & jacks fork River. Come in and forced people off their land. A dang shame
a dang shame is right
I love all of smokie mountains
Very sad for all the families
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Smoky
Imagine how the natives felt when their land was unceremoniously wrenched from them. Without a gov’mint check…
Agreed, my dad has covered that many times on the Appalachian Storyteller
My mom’s folks are from these mountains many years ago; they lived there for hundreds and hundreds of years. They rounded most of em up and moved them to Oklahoma on the ‘trail where they cried.’ But they were t compensated back in the removal, 1838-39. At least the Eastern Band was able to finally be recognized as such. So y’all need to see the bigger picture as well: this all was Cherokee home.
Yup we’ve done many stories about it on The Appalachian Storyteller
Yes It Was!…Stolen!
Makes one heartsick! God bless those precious mountain folks!! Know how they feel! Our people were thrown off their land and given just a few cents an acre!! Now known as Brown County State Park in Indiana.
Amen
@@dormiacrouch1905 That’s terrible! I’ve lived in Indiana most of my life and never knew that! I’m sorry your people lost their homes! That area is so beautiful. I know they were devastated.
Cades cove is special to me . Many of my family are buried there. Tipton’s Jobe’s Garlands Shields my ggg grandmother Elizabeth Caroline Garland Wilson. When I go there I’m filled with emotion because I feel the sadness of having to leave such a place of beauty. Thanks for your videos
Thank you Eric!
That was a very good bit of history. I really enjoyed.
Thank you 😊
Very sad indeed 😢
lest we ever forget
I've never been to Appalachia or lived there. But I cried at this. The government is greedy and these poor people lost their opportunity to share it with their decendants and it rips my heart out
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🎉 Have a Blessed and happy 4th of July y'all!!! Stay safe!! Much gratitude to all of our lawmen,medics, and all branches of service men and women where ever you are protecting us Americans and America!!
Well said! Happy 4th!
Thank you for sharing this story.
I have often pondered how all those little towns and the people whos lives for generations lived in the areas that now encompass the Blue ridge parkway and smokie mountains Ntnl park.
All those families and memories and communities that were flug far and wide… it pains me to think of all that was lost.
Thank you!
That is terrible the governments can do what they like anywhere in the world it’s always the little people that suffer
agreed Sonia
I remember one of my Uncles going thru this, here in Louisiana. He and his family lived in the old house that my Aunt grew up in! It Broke Her Heart!
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Thanks for posting. There will be another day of Judgement. ❤️🙏🙌
Amen
Thanks again for sharing, JD and Sarah, Eminent domain, harsh word
Yes sir
Apparently 7 to 8 million dollars worth of Caterpillar earth moving equipment is presently parked exactly where my old house once stood facing the road with a $10,000 front yard. 14 years of blood and sweat ended in 30 days with tears.
Amen brother! Years after this my families on both sides lost all their land and heritage the same way to the park district at Pine Mountain state park in Kentucky.
Well said
I feel so guilty for staying in the Smokey Mountains knowing now that so many lost their homes and livelihoods 😞 I went on the tourist drive that you showed and it was a waste of my time. Worse than city traffic.
If anyone reads this, please purchase the book! Absolutely wonderful!
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Sad, but, True story that Most people in this country share in one way or another. This should unite us whether Indigenous people or Scotch- Irish, or any Working Class displaced by Gentrification! Thanks J.D. ☮️
Well said
Amen!
Lord have Mercy
This is a Tearjerker.
💜
@@theappalachiachannel
I appreciate your outstanding channel,
I had tears in my eyes at the end of the story.
It hurt me deeply for the wonderful people whose lives were forever changed.
Not to be able to sit on their front porch anymore breathing in the fragrant night air and hearing the crickets, watching the
lightening bugs.
Or to gaze out on the beloved hills watching God's hand working with the changing of the seasons.
A treasured way of life passed down from one generation to the next, soon bypassed and forgotten.
Thank God for awesome storyteller's,
such as yourself.
People need to remember and respect those who have carved a way of life,
with their bare hands, built homes,
planted gardens, tended livestock all while raising families.
Their way of life, erased!
Stolen by the government!
All in the name of progress, AKA greed.
I have been to Cave's Cove a bunch of times, me and my whole family loves it there, even my nephew was named after Cade's Cove. It was sure sorry of the way the government took the land from those pure folks. Thank you for sharing with us today and God bless you and your whole family...🙏🙏🙏
Have a blessed day John
So many similar stories from many parks, and dams. It doesn't seem fair. Thanks for the story JD
Thank you Rusty
Such a heartbreaking ßtory!
💜
I've known this story most of my life and it still makes me cry... I wouldn't want to live anywhere else either... but on the other hand, it's better that our beautiful mountains are preserved for others to enjoy than for developers to come in and destroy it... Thanks for sharing this with the world 😎👍❤️
Have you done a story about Loyston and Norris Lake?
Yes I have, actually I’m sitting in my camper on the shores of Norris lake as I type this. I have a spot from March til November at loyston point campground
@@theappalachiachannelExcellent! We went to the lake when it was really, really low and walked around stone steps and remnants of fireplaces...it made me sad that this is the cost of progress. 🙁❤
Is the video on this channel?
@@KathysTube No, it's on the Appalachian Storyteller. This channel is about stories my father writes, and The Appalachian Storyteller is documentaries about historical events and people that my father writes. Thanks so much -Sarah
Good story as always keep them coming God bless you all
Thank you, I will
My childhood home near germantown ohio was also taken by a park district its a bitter pill to swallow
thanks for sharing this
Same story for Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. When you hike the Park you can still find small abandoned family cemetery plots that were left behind.
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♥💔♥ Hard times!
it certainly was
Great video and a good piece of history. Do you think some of the folks moved further up in the mountains and stayed? Just food for thought. Thanks for sharing this. Your channel member Jaguar.
Some probably did stay off the radar and managed to stay
Shoulda put the warning up for that one....'will need tissues for tears'. The NPS stole land along the Delaware River in NY, NJ & PA for the Tocks Island Dam to supply water to NYC & Philly. After they stole the land, which included many old homesteads, the project was abandoned due to the land not being suitable for a dam. Of course the gov kept the 72,000 acres. I'm in Amos' camp...the Never Give Up Gang.
Much love JD, have a Blessed day❤
Thank you ❤️
I love driving through the cades cove loop but had no idea the history behind the town and what became of it in the way it did. Saddened for their loss but I appreciate the sacrifices they made so we could enjoy it for the rest of its time on earth. But man… if the government don’t overstep its boundaries 24/7
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"Land stolen from them," you stated. Story made me mad, sick at my stomach and crying. The whole time, I'm thinking of the Native Americans, Trail of Tears and how the government still SCREWS them. 😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢
Thank you Vickie, I know sometimes these stories can be hard, but I am doing my best to make sure their stories are not forgotten on my watch
Elkmont was magical!
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When you were growing up did you spend your time listening to older people about life in the mountains ?
Yes
Elkmont was mostly doctors, dentists and lawyers. It was a resort/vacation town after the lumber company moved out. It was Cades Cove that suffered at the hands of the park service. Some of that land was sold out from under the residents at 30 cents an acre.
thank you
They call it progress and preservation, heartbreaking is what I see
Amen
I've seen the smoky mountain national park it's beautiful but there was enough space for those people
That is absolutely heartbreaking! I had no idea. I believe I may never go to another National Park again. My fiancé doesn’t want to buy a house. He has always said that we won’t ever really own it, because the government will just take it if they want to and there’s nothing that can be done. Well… they stole the land from the Native Americans. What’s going to stop them from stealing land from everyone else?!
They can’t be stopped
How incredibly sad. I’ve been there but I had no idea what it cost those families. Breaks my heart. It always comes down to money don’t it!
It really does. Always.
I knew about this history. Its heartbreakin that the government took these people lands that had lived there for generations just like that gentleman said what about our heritage.
It is heartbreakin
The same thing happened to some of my people's land. It is now under Norris Lake, the area flooded to make a place for the dam. Most graves were removed and buried elsewhere, but some of my people's bones rest under the lake.
Loyston?
Yes that land was stolen twice in a matter of 100 years.
Yup
They recently stole land from the Amish in Pennsylvania. How my heart breaks for them.
@@cindybain6054 wow, I hate to hear that
The worst thing a man can ever hear, “We’re the Government and we are here to help”!
Agreed
Heart breaking I feel bad about going there years ago
It’s bitter sweet, the land is beautiful, but always remember how it really became a park
They didn't have to move . They were part of the beauty of those mountains. Our government made such a disgraceful decision for our own people .
So sad...
Look into what's happening with the buffalo river in the Ozarks
“So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof.” Proverbs Chapter 1 verse 19. I know it happened to me too.Clipped for $90,000. NC DOT. It’s been 10 years now but you never forget it. Never.
Unfortunately, this is just like the government to tell you how things can be better to make youfeel like you’ve have choice and then just turn around and tell you this is the way it’s gonna be and you have no choice. It’s so sad. They didn’t even have opportunity to dispute the amount that was paid to them for their land. They just received a check in the mail and had to accept it.
Well said Janice... I refuse to ever let this story of the folks who lived in these mountains ever be forgotten on my watch
Every time I go to Cades Cove, I tear up thinking of the people being forced from their homes. It is heartbreaking and should be illegal - not that that would stop them.
just cause its legal, doesn't make it right... especially when the folks doin the stealing are the same ones writing the laws.
@@theappalachiachannel Well said!!!
Well the government hadn't changed through the year's they still do people wrong now today stand strong and don't give up God bless you all
Thank you 😊
💚🌻
The government makes me sick. Poor people
Amen
" Give them hell till the end".......If the American people don't stand their ground they will not have a ground No Country we are all most there..........May GOD have mercy on us all What happened to the government working for its people
I don’t understand why they didn’t take the money from the government and buy another plot of beautiful land instead of going to the city. I live in Tennessee and it is so beautiful here and Land for everyone especially back then. 😢
they didnt pay the actual value of the land, and what they paid wasn't enough to buy new land
Look up 23 district. Same
Stick with me, I dyslexically weave my to my point. They're doing the same thing still; people in western NC, where my family has reaided for over 250+ yrs, are still missing. Those who survived the storm and 30' walls of water are being prevented from even staring the process of rebuilding through rezoning via "green zones" & new "flood planes" in areas that have never flooded in recorded history. Those who live in the valleys along the creeks and rivers have experienced small flooding, and even the generational larger scale floods that would cause property damage and drownings but not so much in mass but a facility it two due to the sparcity of the population , not often, and certainly not with the most water to fall in one area for one storm on record. The tail numbers, flight number& pattern were obtained by Dane Wiggington during this recent disaster i won't name. At both pivotal times that storm turned from northwest to a hard eastern and northern arch the place entered the storm. It's not a difficult process and had been in use since 1946 and perfected by 1963 or so. Its not a theory, its a fact and the information is readily available if you know how to keyword search and dig. It was easier to find before this until the public began to awake to the reality of geoengineering, however many do not understand the absolute monsterous scale it is done on and that it is a much larger operation in rural areas that not only pushed our weather into what is termed the "drought deluge cycle" ,but the chemicals and elements used to perform this function such as aluminum barium oxide, silver iodide, sulfur dioxide, polymer have contaminated the air, the soil the water and in turn all these heavy metals and micro plastics get absorbed into the trees and is causing mass die offs of the forests and trees on general at varying speeds depending on the concentration in an area. Yet all trees soil and water are effected as this constant "engineering", literally constant as it is in the plan✈️-⛽. I farm crops for personal use and growing vegetables of all varieties has gone from hard period as it was made so after the Fall, to misery over the past 15-20 yrs with new invasive insects always "accidentally" released to the new more ravenous blights(which have too been around since the Fall) and the inability to fight the soils acidity due to the toxic rain. All this wraps into the powers perpetual battle on the people of Appalachia. A land unwanted by the rich and powerful until they envy the privacy of life in the hills valleys and mountainside homes. Then their true human nature emerges with the advent of a new in demand industry being lithium. Lithium will be the 21st century's Chesnut blight that will not have the mercy that the blight had in sparing anything but the American Chesnut, if you can call that mercy. Lithium mining will be the end of the smoky mountains and as it is found in other areas of Appalachia so too will the land and its people fall prey to the machine that ate freedom and land ownership that is the very top, very evil unseen unheard masters. There are plans to close the national parks to the public and then people altogether followed by complete restriction to humans save likely themselves or they will be stripped of their resources. This too is not fantasy or conjecture, it is fact through actions that were written about in their white papers before they have performed land grabs aka imminent domain. They have released articles by university "scientists" every single day for years on the need to engineer the sky to prevent "climate change" where in reality there not talking about it they have been doing it nationally on mass since 1994. Whereas before that date it was typically done in isolation. Other nations also practice this and it the actual cause of the weather patterns and greater disasters that we see today. Just like all great evil plans the responsibility and consequences are removed by the govt through going through private institutions that are removed from connection to who makes the decisions ro avoid acknowledging that they are responsible not necessarily creating storms, which theyve been capable of for 80 yrs, but altering them in whatever way they wish. It is a tool of destruction that has a desired result in places like the western nc where there is something they desire for the purpose of gaining more power. In today's time lithium is a faux necessity for modern life, in the time of the logging days of Appalachia that youve covered was the need for the rot resistant strong beautiful wood of the chesnut for homes and railroads. They demonize us who have lived along with creation as God made us to as they are the great destroyers of creation.
I have documentation for all my statements of you ever want any of it which i doubt as most shrug off what theyre "lyin eyes" show them. However deciding to memory hole what you witness didn't make it not real and that is a concept in the age of emerging ai that most are unable to understand. At age 39 i have been receiving offers to buy the 50 acres left of my family's land for twenty years; we had 270 acres going back 250+ yrs since my forefathers settled there alongside the Cherokee and it was whittled away down to 50 by the time the SMNP finsihed swelling. Everything around the 5-10mile radius of my home was destroyed, roads homes churches businesses all gone save our small community unchanged since the 1900s practically. Only twenty miles or so from Asheville we are now rather isolated but as i am a believer in God and in being prepared for hard times which i knew were coming i am much better off and prepared than everyone i know here which creates many other problems in itself. It is very dangerous now and there are govt representatives prowling the mountainside looking to buy peoples land at insulting low offers to people who are momentarily desperate or just outright condemning property that got nothing more than a good soak. They are setting up the infrastructure to mine the entirety of western nc mountains. FEMA is not doing what they were claimed to have been desiged to do but doing what they have been doing since Katrina and that is diaplacing people against their will by any number of means, denying monetary assistance to everyone i know who applied, confiscating supplies brought to our area and relocating them to "migrant sanctuary towns & city" locations (documented through air tags & gps trackers placed in supplies by those who paid for them after intial claims and actual confiscations documented on video) Yes ive rambed, and yes i know you yourself know the plight of Appalachian mt folk as I believe you reside in TN mountains, probably not far from my stomping grounds by vehicle. But I've said all this just to reiterate a few truths: ¹The people of Appalachia have always been looked down upon not just by the cities and suburbs but in a great way by the ones who drove us into the hills in the first place being out leaders, and now they went is to leave bc they found something they went and they know just like the people of chimney rock, we will not trade generational land for treasure unless with some that they are given no other choice or as myself we will have to enter eternity with God before we leave our land
²A people who own their own land and are spread out among the mountains and forests who do not participate in farm subsidies(not that they were ever created for us) or other handouts and provide for ourselves and protect ourselves are a more difficult people to manipulate for their benefit
³The federal program of "Rewilding" that is documented and have created maps of where people will be allowed to live begining in 2030 with a goal of completion by 2050, that map shows no occupants in all of appalachia not already highly urbanized. Appalachia is not the only target of Rewilding, it is the greatest treasure and desire if this comingnew power that we are in the midst of transformation. It is this paradigm shift that will have a greater impact than the industrial revolution then times over. Think of the changes from 2003 to now, the year i graduated high school with not one of the 83 i graduated with opening a cell phone yet to now, and the technocratic revolution has onky begun. The mountains are preparing for one last scream and i pray daily that God will protect us and help us get through this unspeakable time. Thank you for what you do, you are in my prayers.
So sad!
indeed
What a sad story. Those people who loved the land and respected it were the last to see it as God intended it to be. 😢
amen
They're trying to do it again in WNC/ETN now 😢
History repeats itself
JD, you missed it on this one! Elkmont was never a mountain town of poor people! It was an enclave of well-to-do families from Knoxville who sought to escape that hot summer clime by building a resort hamlet in the mountains! They arrived on special trains from Knoxvilke at the beginning of the summer, stayed in charming Queen Anne ir Woodland inspired cottages, many of which had electricity and indoor plumbing! The sumner residents of Elkmont were far from poor!
There was no scgool, for there was no summer term! Instead there was a recreation building (it is still standing) where the elite of the flatter country met to play games in the cool evenings, and they even dammed up the creek to create a lake for swimming and for an electric power plant!
There was a lot of money in the timber that was being stripped from the mountains, and the town of Townsend itself was built by a timber baron named, you guessed it, Townsend!
The Wonderland Hotel, at the entrance to the village if Elkmont, catered to wealthy guests from Knoxville and all over the country, operating until it became too expensive for the Park Service to maintain, at the end of the twentieth century.
Elkmont was usually continuously inhabited by most of its homeowners well into the 1960s, when their family's lifetime leases began to expire. Many Knoxvillians have fond memories of spending summers and weekends at their grandparents' places in Elkmont.
Many homes in Elkmont have been now lovingly and quite meticulously restored by the Park Service. Several are available for overnight guests. Elkmont remains a magical place of memories of a gentler time for new generations.
Granted, the federal government did not always deal fairly with the mountain people in their "acquisition" of the Great Smoky Mountains. Just consider, though, what would we have today if they hadn't? A sprawling, exclusive subdivision, with the mountains deforested and leveled, theur great peaks paved over and their creeks forced to run beneath concrete? God forbid!
I realize fully how hard it must have been to leave land owned for hundreds of years. I made the same difficult choice, myself, only my family had owned ours for five centuries, aside from the fact that, as a woman of strong American Indian ancestry, we were killed for land we had inhabited for more than 13,000 years!
I know what you were trying to say with this story, dear friend, but it's a bit off course.
By the way, did you know that the City of Gatlinburg's older name was "White Oak Flats.". I guess they thought nobody would want to vacation at a place called White Oak Flats! 😂
Still a big fan! Becca
Hi Becca! This is a fictional story I wrote, I’ve been to Elkmont many times and know the history you described, I’d also like to add that long before elkmont was a resort, it was actually a lumber camp operated by the Elkmont lumber company and that’s where the name came from, have a blessed day
As sad as this story is, we see what has happened in surrounding areas. Condos, hotels, amusement facilities, tourist stores now occupy the sites of what used to be mountain homesteads when the defendants could no longer afford to pay the taxes and sold out to investors who bulldozed the old home place and put in a parking lot for walmart. At least, wrong as it was, a small part of the heritage was preserved even if the way of life was not.
well said
Damn😪
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I really feel bad for those prople who had to Leave. Mountains. That was there home that was not right to do by government. Shame.
I couldnt agree more
They are really crying now too many newcomers can’t handle it
I was wondering...They're were some allowed to stay until the passed away. How did that come about. A relative of mine was one of the last to pass away. Kermit caughron.. that side of my family never shared any stories about the past. My grandfather lasted in 1984 at 95, he always lived in the Hartford/Cosby area. Do you know where I can find out , I know I've seen someone it before, just don't remember where. Maybe the old heartland series?
Some were granted lifetime leases if they could get someone in the government to care
@@theappalachiachannel thank you
I AM FROM THE GOVERMENT AND I AM HER TO HELP
Scariest words ever
JD have you heard the stories park rangers tell about the feral people? It says they were run off when the parks were formed. They did not want to leave. The result is a dark secret of the forest service. No one is allowed to report these poor soul. They live out in the wild and are very savage.
Yes, I wrote a book about it a few years ago
I wasn't old enough to go to school when the men in their Booger Suits (men's dress suits, dress shoes, socks, white shirts, ties and hats) came to my fathers house to talk to Grandpa about his farm. They wanted Grandpa to donate a large part of his farm to build the new Clearfield School Building on. Grandpa didn't want to donate it or sell it. I was hiding under the Kitchen table by my Grandpa's knees. When one of the men talked about Grandma being in a State Hospital at the State's expense. I saw my Grandpa start to cry. Until that moment I did not know that men could cry (or that I had a Grandma). Someone started talking about killing Grandpa. "I came out from under the table and told those bad men to, "Go away!" I don't want to go to school!" They gave grandpa what they wanted to pay for the land and took it. The school is still on that same acreage. I attended that school from the 1st grade through the 8th grade. So did my brothers and sister. I did not get to see my Grandma until I was in the 5th grade. She was laying dead in her casket at Stucky's Funeral Home. If the government wants your property they will take it. This happened over 70 years ago. The new Clearfield School Building was brand new when I started 1st grade.
Wow!!!
😞 so sad! Power and greed. Dolly wasn’t satisfied with one resort she built another one. The mountains eroding to concrete and asphalt.
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😮😢
A tale of a land... stolen TWICE.
Yup
😭
Same thing happened during the building of lake monroe in indiana.
They stole the land off of everyone.
Amen
so sad
Amen
My folks come from the North Carolina hills and lived in Texas. My grandpa showed the blood that mountain folk have in there vanes. Pap was a drinking man up in to his 90s. My mother tried to get him put in a home she got the law after him saying he couldn't take care of his self . Well at 89 setting in a lazy boy he met the law on his front porch with a shotgun. Well they served him with papers to in front of the my judge to see if was fit to live alone. Well pap sobered up and went in front of the judge and won. After getting back home he went on a 2 week bender.
I feel their sadness but it did stop the beauty being destroyed when future generations would sell the land and leave the mountain looking for a better life. If the government hadn't turned it into a national park there would be WalMarts, McDonalds, Dollar stores all over the place and the trees would be long gone now too. But they should have given people the choice of new land instead of pennies for theirs. I would say JD the mountains cried again when the government allowed the coal companies to do mountain top removal and dump it in the rivers and streams. The government stole my grandfathers farm to build Route 66 by giving him pennies on the dollar. 😞
Thank you for sharing your thoughts
Every National Park has cost American Citizens of that land. They were displaced so the government could create a playground for City slickers. People who for the most part don't know where their milk comes from. Or the cost of the maintaining farm land or running a ranch.GOD BLESS THE PEOPLE OFTHE LAND🎉😂
Amen
This is outrageous and just flat out wrong. Makes me sick. They didn't offer a deal they stole that land.
I just don't get! Under the guise of "Imminent Domain" or "Manifest Destiny" what happens to all the livestock? Crops in the field? And my main question, what happens to the dead ancestors that are buried there and those that are still living that wish to buried alongside their departed mother and father?
Cemeteries are still there
@@theappalachiachannel I had no doubt that the cemeteries were still there. I just hope that relatives of the ones buried in them are allowed to be buried in them as well.
The National Parks are nice but I still feel it was wrong to force these homesteaders off their land, even with payment. This is a free country with freedom of choice about such things. I’m sure it caused many hard feelings against the federal government for many generations. I would have been one to want to stay on my land. I’m also of Scottish descent with family in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Mississippi. Other descendants of immigrant groups would have felt the same.
completely agree
JD hello
Hey 👋
It bothers me to say this but I’m afraid another fight like this one is showing its nasty head now wait and see.
Agreed
The government did take it. But at least the coal companies didn’t buy it up for less money. Because you know how they did things back then.
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Seems to be happening again in a more brutal fashion.
Agreed