{"id":3903,"date":"2017-03-01T08:00:53","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T13:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cabinsforyou.com\/blog\/?p=3903"},"modified":"2026-06-25T14:48:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T14:48:03","slug":"old-stuff-day-and-smokies-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cabinsforyou.com\/blog\/events\/old-stuff-day-and-smokies-history.htm","title":{"rendered":"Old Stuff Day – Celebrate with a Smoky Mountain History Lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"

No matter what holidays you celebrate, there are some that are most well-known: Christmas, Thanksgiving, Hanukah, St. Patrick\u2019s Day, New Year\u2019s Day, Easter, Halloween, July 4, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President\u2019s Day, Mother\u2019s Day, Father\u2019s Day, Valentine\u2019s Day\u2026but did you know that each month there are dozens of other off-the-wall holidays to celebrate?!<\/p>\n

Tomorrow (March 2) is our new favorite \u2013 Old Stuff Day<\/strong> \u2013 and we\u2019re celebrating with a history lesson on the Great Smoky Mountains. The area has a rich history, comprising everything from music and the arts to moonshine and pioneering women. Many of the things we consider art today in the Smokies were everyday necessities in the past, building Gatlinburg, Sevierville, and Pigeon Forge into what they are today.<\/p>\n

Read on for a quick history lesson on the area; then go out and celebrate Old Stuff Day by visiting the historic buildings in Cades Cove, touring the Titanic Museum Attraction, or hunting down an antiques shop in the area! <\/p>\n

The Ogle Family <\/strong>
\nWhen the first European settlers arrived in the Smokies (at the start of the 19th century), they named the Gatlinburg area White Oak Flats. Among those first settlers was the famous William Ogle, who cut logs for the first cabin in Gatlinburg (although he died before building it himself). Just a few years after his death, William Ogle\u2019s wife, Martha Jane Huskey Ogle, moved to the Gatlinburg area with her 7 children, her brother, and his family. You can look for the Ogle name all over town, including at Fannie Farkle\u2019s<\/strong> for their famous Ogle Dog! <\/p>\n

Logging in the Smoky Mountains<\/strong>
\nLogging was a major industry (and source of income) for people settling in the Great Smoky Mountains in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It\u2019s no surprise, considering how many hundreds of acres of trees are found in the area. While the logging provided important work and resources for homes, it also produced an unfortunate side effect. By the mid-1920s, logging had destroyed 300,000+ acres of Smoky Mountain trees.<\/p>\n

Restoring the Smokies & Creating a Legacy<\/strong>
\nAround this time, several people began work to preserve the area\u2019s natural beauty for future generations. Ann Davis, after a trip to several national parks out west in 1923, suggested the creation of a national park in the Smokies. David Chapman worked as chairman of the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association. Paul Fink was instrumental in the route of the Appalachian Trail through the Great Smoky Mountains. <\/p>\n

Horace Kephart and Georgia Masa used their resources and talents \u2013 paired with their passion for the beauty of the area \u2013 to raise $5 million from Tennessee and North Carolina residents to buy the land from loggers. John D. Rockefeller Jr. added the remaining $5 million, kicking off a decades-long effort to make the Great Smoky Mountains National Park what it is today. <\/p>\n

The Walker Sisters<\/strong>
\nThe 6 Walker sisters lived within the borders of the national park before it was public land, and they held onto their homesteads until their death. They were so passionate in their pleas, in fact, they were the only people allowed to stay within the national park\u2019s borders. They remained there until the death of the last sister in 1964, selling homemade children\u2019s toys, doilies, and fried apple pies. The Walker Sister Homestead still stands today, situated along the Little Brier Gap Trail. On your way, stop at the Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse, which their favorite helped build. <\/p>\n

Did you know?<\/p>\n