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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 1 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

GSMNP_Cata-244

Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 3 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 4 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 5 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 6 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 7 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 8 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 9 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 10 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 11 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 12 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 13 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 14 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 15 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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Item 16 - Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer
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Cataloochee tract 244: John M. Palmer

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  • CATALOOCHEE HISTORIC DISTRICT: CULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK January 2000 Dianne L. Flaugh Historical Landscape Architect Cultural Resources Resource Management Great Smoky Mountains National Park National Park Service I I I~ I I I I I I r I I I I I I I I CHAPTER 4: INDIVIDUAL TRACTS 149 John Palmer Tract (244) Location This 171.14-acre tract is found along Little Cataloochee trail west of Davidson Gap. History Various members of the Palmer family purchased the five parcels that make up this tract. The first fifty acre parcel was bonded to Polly Palmer, wife of George Palmer, from the Love holdings in 1858. Jesse Palmer obtained control ofthe parcel and in 1883, trans­ferred ownership to his brother George (Fayt) Palmer. In 1888, Fayt transferred owner­ship of this tract to his son, George H. Palmer (Creek George). Three more tracts of eighteen, twenty-six, and twenty-two acres ofland were bonded to Fayt Palmer in 1892, and in 1894, transferred to Creek George Palmer. All four of these tracts were trans­ferred from Creek George Palmer to }liram and John Palmer in 1920 with John acquir­ing sole ownership in 1923. A fmal fifty acre tract was bonded to Fayt Palmer in 1881, from the Love holdings. This tract was transferred to his son, John Palmer in 1901. The NCPC acquired the total acreage from John Palmer in 1930, for $7,210. Fayt Palmer had extensive land holdings in Cataloochee and it is impossible to deter­mine from the available records what activities were occurring where. In 1880, he recorded ownership of over six hundred acres of land of which sixty acres were tilled and twelve were permanent pasture. It is possible that a portion of this cleared land and pastureland was found on this tract. Creek George Palmer and his wife, Martha Russell, were farmers who raised cattle, sheeJ?, hogs and chickens. He also had an extensive apple orchard that included Buff, Milan, June Transparent, and Sheepsnose apples. Harvested apples were shipped to Waynesville. In 1916, Palmer moved his family out of Cataloochee. 1 When John Palmer acquired the Creek George Palmer property he moved from his farmstead, located nearer to Cooks Knob, to the Creek George Palmer farmstead, which was located closer to Davidson Gap. Vegetation NCPC records for tract 244 indicate that it consisted of seventy acres of cultivated land and one hundred and one acres of woodland. It is known that Creek George Palmer had an extensive orchard. It is likely that John Palmer also had an orchard on his original fifty acre tract located closer to Cooks Knob.2 The exact locations of these orchards remain unknown. Circulation A wagon road extended up Palmer Creek and Davidson Branch to provide access to both the John Palmer homesite near Cooks Knob and the Creek George Palmer homesite near Davidson Gap. A trail extends up through Davidson Gap to descend into Little Cataloochee and reach the Upper Place of Will Messer. 150 C ULTURAL LANDSCAPE REPORT: C ATALOOCHEE Hlsm RIC DISTRICT Structures, Furnishings, and Objects NCPC records for tract 244 indicates that it contained two farmsteads. That located near Davidson Gap consisted of a six-room frame house, barn, springhouse, smokehouse, and applehouse. The farmstead nearest Cooks Knob included a five-room frame house, log barn, and log applehouse. At Davidson Gap, the two-story frame house was situated north of the road and had with a one-story ell extending toward the road. Both the east and west sides of the ell had porches. A rock embankment wall ran in line with the south wall of the ell (figure 56). The frame springhouse and smokehouse were found north ofthehouse. Figure 56. John Palmer House, 1937. Note rock embankment. GRSM Archives. Both the applehouse and barn are described in building survey notes. The log apple house stood along the road east of the house and measured 20' by 16'. It was con­structed of slightly hewn, pine logs with notched corners. Mud and stones chinked the logs. The barn measured 36' by 46' and stood west of the house. It had two pens, standing twelve logs high. These were constructed of chestnut and the chinks were partially filled with split rails. The homesite nearest Cooks Knob was described as the Old John Palmer Place in the building survey notes. A Grossman sketch shows that the applehouse and barn were both located north ofthe house. Except for a photograph of the barn that depicts open fields extending to the ridgetop, no other documentation has been found. Existing Conditions This area is within subzone Natural Environment-Type I, which emphasizes the natural environment. This area was not included in the vegetation survey of Cataloochee conducted in 1997. Site visits show that the area of the homesite is forested with tulip poplar and has an open understory. This is typical to other areas of former agricultural land undergoing reforestation. It is likely that other formerly cleared areas of this tract have a similar I I I I I I I I I I I I I • ~ 1 I I I~ I I I I I I r- ~ ~ " I I I I I I I ~ I CHAPTER 4: lNDNIDUAL TRACTS Figure 57. Log remnants of applehouse, 1999. forest cover. Ornamentals including yucca and daffodils were found in the area of the homesite. Little Cataloochee trail now extends past this site to reach Davidson Gap before descending into Little Cataloochee. It is open to both foot and horse travel. No NPS maintained trail leads to the Cooks Knob homesite. 151 The homesite area along Davidson Gap trail remains evident. A stone embankment wall and the log remnants of the applehouse that was built into the slope mark the homesite location (figure 57). A concrete trough was found in the general area of the barnsite although no other trace of the bam was noted. A defunct NPS animal trap stands above the stone embankment wall. Several short stone walls are found upslope from the 152 CULTIJRAL LANDSCAPE REPORT: C ATALOOCHEE HISTORIC DISTRICT homesite and east along Little Cataloochee Trail. These appear to have been built for erosion or water control. No current information is available for the Cooks Knob homesite. Analysis and Evaluation This site is associated with early settlement and the Palmer family. It also is connected with the commercial apple industry and circulation patterns between Big Cataloochee and Little Cataloochee communities . . Reforestation, loss of orchards, and the removal of buildings have impacted the site. However, the reforested agricultural land remains evident, dominated by pioneer tree species. While no buildings remain standing, there are small scale landscape elements and remnants that illustrate the history and use of the site. These include structural elements such as walls, fences, and timber remnants of the applehouse. Historic circula­tion patterns through the site remain evident. The mountainous setting and remaining landscape elements attest to the difficult nature of subsistence farming in Cataloochee. NOTES 1 Ethel Palmer McCracken, Interview by Jacqueline Lott and author, Written notes, Waynesville, NC, 12 January 1998. 2 Building lists indicate that he had an applehouse on the upper property. 3 Charles Grossman, Grossman notebooks, B-4, 1935, GRSM Archives. I I I I I I I I I I I I
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This digital collection was created to contribute to the public's understanding of the forces and ideas that led to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934. The most vi...

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