Doreen and Laura's Excellent Adventure: The Volunteer State

Tennessee

(Sightseeing)

December 28, 2017 to January 6, 2018

En-route to Chattanooga we stopped in Pulaski, TN to see the Trail of Tears Memorial. Unfortunately it was closed (argh - these are the issues you encounter when you travel off-season!). There were a few information boards posted around the front of the building so we had a look at those before we drove on.

For the life of me I don't know why we didn't get a picture of the "Rock Church" while we were there.

From various genealogical lectures we've attended we know the following about these Native American tribes or nations.
These 5 tribes are often referred to as the Five Civilized Tribes because early colonists considered them to be "civilized" according to their (i.e. the colonists) view of the world. The Indians were typically agrarian, lived in towns which had public and residential areas in addition to streets. Their system of government was hereditary, much like that of England. The tribes even adopted many colonial attributes such as literacy, written constitutions, Christianity, centralized government, participation in markets and even slavery. They typically maintained very stable relationships with the European colonists. To me this makes their removal from their traditional homelands that much sadder.

Whidbey Island, were we live, is often called "The Rock", but driving through Tennessee we were often struck by how rocky the state is. Alongside the roads you often see that the pathway for the road had to be blasted through rocks. Sometimes it's hard to imagine how anything grows on in what would seem to be very shallow soil.

Taken from the motorhome as we drove by, rock "walls" are a very common sight along Tennessee highways.

Again - taken from the motorhome as we drove along this shows how many of the rock faces
weep water which, in the extreme cold, has now frozen.

As we neared the campground in Chattanooga we had to laugh when we noticed the following sign.

I think it's safe to assume that they had more than one RV turn into their driveway over the years.

I remember watching Ken Burns "Civil War" on PBS back in the early 1990's. It was riveting, revolting, mesmerizing, touching, terrible and much more. That someone could tell the story of something that happened so long ago so movingly with music, still pictures, eye-witness accounts, historian's comments and much more was amazing. In short it was wonderful. I didn't get into genealogy until late 2001 and it was several years before I discovered that 3 of my great-great grandfathers and 2 of my great-great-great grandfathers had fought in the war. That made the war so much more real to me.

Although none of my ancestors were in the Chattanooga battles, the city played a very important role in the Civil War. It was seen by the Union as the gateway to the deep south. For most of the war it was held by the Confederates but in August 1863, Union forces forced the Confederates out of Chattanooga into northern Georgia. In September, only about 7 miles from the Tennessee border, at Chickamauga creek (pronounced Chick-a-ma-ga), the Union and Confederate Forces met again as the Union tried to push deeper into southern territory. The Union was defeated and made their way back to Chattanooga. Three months later, in December, the Confederacy tried to re-take Chattanooga but were defeated. Collectively these battles are memorialized at the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park in Georgia/Tennessee. Collectively over 700 markers, monuments, etc. have been placed on these battlefields, 600 on Chickamauga site alone. They stand as witness to the terrible toll of the civil war and the brave men and women who fought in it.

Some of the monuments on the Chickamauga battlefield.

Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center.
I find the descriptions of the various troop movements and battles found on the battlefield itself very hard to figure out.
At the visitor center they have a first rate re-enactment movie about the battles which really helped me understand how and why the battle was won by the Confederates.

Chattanooga sits on the bank of the Tennessee River surrounded by hills. The battle for Chattanooga was fought from and on those hills. One of the battles was fought on the property of Robert Cravens on Lookout Mountain which rises up in Georgia and runs north to just over the Tennessee line. From it you can look right down on Chattanooga.

Drawing of the battle at Robert Cravens home.

Photograph of what the area looked like when Robert Cravens returned to his land after the war.
When the Union held Chattanooga in late 1863, it opened the doors to Georgia and eventually to "Sherman's March to the Sea." That campaign, led by General William Tecumseh Sherman, wreaked havoc on the state of Georgia. I think you can imagine from this picture the kind of damage that was done on that infamous campaign.

Picture of the home Cravens built after the war. It was closed for the season so we did not get to see inside.

Some of the Civil War monuments near Cravens house.

Over 625,000 people died in the Civil War. That's more by far than any other U.S. War. I wish we could find a way to live together peacefully without war. So many good people lost, so many lives changed because of it.

To change to a happier topic ...

We went to see Ruby Falls which is also on Lookout Mountain. The cave has an interesting history. The entrance to a different cave, well known to Chattanoogans, was accidentally sealed off by a railroad tunnel built through Lookout Mountain. A local resident wanted to re-open the cave and make it into a tourist attraction. He got a group of investors together and they drilled an elevator shaft from another point on the mountain hoping to intersect with the cave. This work began in 1928. A 18 inch by 5 foot void was discovered in the shaft but it was 160 feet above the level of the original cave. Further inspection revealed a new cave containing beautiful rock formations, numerous passages and several flowing streams. Going deeper and deeper into the cave they eventually discovered a beautiful waterfall. It took the group 17 hours to enter, explore and return to the entrance in the elevator shaft. 14 of those hours were spent crawling and slithering on their belly's because the cave wasn't tall enough for them to stand up. (I like caves - but not enough to crawl 7 hours one way and 7 hours back!) Work was then begun to prepare and open the cave to tourists.

I can almost hear you all groaning "Oh no! Not more cave pictures!" so I'll just cut to the chase.

The waterfall is 145 feet tall and 1120 feet underground.

The area where we are standing was completely carved out by the falls over millions of years!

Our last stop in Chattanooga was to the Tennessee aquarium. It has two sections in separate buildings. One building houses is the typical ocean type salt water exhibits and the other is the world's largest freshwater aquarium which focuses on following a drop of water from where it falls in the Appalachian mountains to where it enters the Gulf of Mexico. Having never seen a freshwater aquarium we choose that option.

Map of the Tennessee River and all its tributaries.
It flows into the Ohio River in the upper left side of the picture.
Chattanooga is just about dead center of the picture near the bottom (with 3 tributaries running north toward the city).

This habitat represents the streams and pools in the Appalachian mountains.
Notice the icicles hanging from the tree! It was still cold cold cold in Tennessee.
The water pool here had numerous type of trout in it.

The next section was the otter pool.
If I could come back as an animal it would be an otter because they seem to enjoy playing and having fun.

Otter diving to the bottom of the pool to retrieve a piece of fish.

We thought the various habitats in the entire exhibit were exceptionally well done and realistic.

There were all kinds of fish from the various portions of the river including some huge specimens.

Turtles of all sizes!

Alligator resting on a tree.

Electric eel resting on the bottom.
They had some sort of gadget in the tank that would make a sound and show how much electricity the eel was generating.

Fish come in lots of shapes and sizes.

Turtle heading up for air. Check out the claws on his front legs!!!

Alligator partially submerged. Would not want to be anywhere near this guy, be it in the water or on land.

Couple of large specimens. The patterns on their bodies are so different and unique.

This fish is probably about 3-4 feet long.
I went snorkeling once in Hawaii and we saw lots of colorful little fish. I'm pretty sure I would have freaked out
if something this size had been in the vicinity. I think the body looks as if it was made with overlapping coins.

The white fish in the upper left corner and the fish in the foreground are river sturgeon.
The Tennessee Aquarium is working to help increase the numbers of sturgeon in American Rivers.

The aquarium is a great place to visit if you happen to make it to Chattanooga some day. I don't know how many fresh water aquariums there are in the world but this is certainly a good one. The design of the building is also quite interesting in and of itself.

We left Chattanooga and, despite the cold weather, moved north to the town of Clinton, TN. The AAA tour book indicated The Museum of Appalachia was a GEM so we wanted to see it. It's a wonderful place. They have a way above average gift store, home cooked food, very friendly employees and lots to see.

If you've read this blog from the beginning you probably already know we are drawn to places that demonstrate how people lived in the years since Europeans came to this country. We've been to several already on this trip and we continue to find them interesting. Laura's relatives came more recently to the U.S. but several of my lines go back to the earliest arrivals. Seeing these kinds of museums helps me understand the hardships they endured. I won't belabor you with lots of pictures of the various log buildings but here's the general look of the outdoor portion of the museum.

All these old log buildings were brought here from places around East Tennessee.

Several examples of log homes.

Some of the land in the exhibit. They have fenced in areas where they have chickens, ducks, sheep, goats, etc.

Unusual cantilevered barn! All four sides hang out over the middle!

I guess I feel I should show some things I don't think we've seen yet on this trip.

Wheelwright's shop (above and below)

Corn Mill

Interior of a broom and rope maker (above and 2 pictures below)

Storage for items that needed to be kept cool, such as milk and butter (above and below)

Home stills were quite common in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Bark grinder. Tannin was leached out of the ground bark and used to tan animal hides.

These concrete signs and crosses were made by Harrison Mayes. He was a coal miner who erected them all across the U.S.

In addition to all the log buildings in the exhibit, they had a museum called the Appalachian Hall of Fame which housed displays of artifacts belonging to, as they say, "notable, historic, famous, interesting, colorful and unusual folk from the surrounding region." It has so many fascinating items it could stood on it's own as an interesting place to visit.

Life in the Appalacachians was difficult at best and this sign says it best.

Some extraordinary hand made baskets made by locals.

Hand made dolls
The shiny colored glass marbles (in the middle jar) are commercially. The dull marbles (in the other two jars and on the plate) are hand made from clay which was then fired and sometimes glazed with salt.

Simple rough hewed doll bed, doll and small quilt.

This is one of my favorites. A tractor made with whatever the maker found around the house.

From tools to figurines - whittlers made all sorts off items.

I'm sure many children had little tool sets whittled by some family member. In this case, by a blind grandfather!

Music has always been important to Appalachians and in many cases that meant making your own insstrument.

Instrument made with an old hub cap.

Dulicmer made with a gourd.

Bedpan and Gourd Banjos

You have to hand it to the makers of these instruments for their ingenuity!

When you don't have money, you use what you have.

If you're going to make whiskey, you need something to store it in.

Rocking chair made from horseshoes.

Statement from John Rice Irwin who, over a period of 50 plus years, gathered the collection of buildings and artifacts that make up the Museum of Appalachia.

Here's a shout out to a few of these wonderful mountain people who, in my opinion, bloomed where they were planted.