Hensley Settlement (Kentucky)
Encyclopedia
Hensley Settlement is an Appalachian
living history
museum on Brush Mountain, Bell County, Kentucky
in the United States
. The settlement is part of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
. It is located approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) north of the park visitor center on Ridge Trail, and contains twelve homestead log cabins, a one-room school house, and a blacksmith shop. A restored spring house
on the property was used by the settlement as food storage. The settlement was established by in-laws Sherman Hensley and Willy Gibbons, and most inhabitants belonged to either the Hensley or Gibbons family. The last resident was Sherman Hensley, who left in 1951. The school and some forty-five settlement structures and the agriculture environment were restored to their original state in the 1960s by the Job Corps
.
deeded 500 acre (2 km²; 0.781250690760893 sq mi) on top of Brush Mountain in the Appalachian Mountains
. Brothers C. and R.M. Bales, who received the land from Owsley, leased the acreage to John Nichols and Jim Nelson, who mostly used the property for livestock. They cleared the property and made some improvements, including the construction of shake-roofed chestnut
log cabins.
was used for food storage.
residents moved away to either join the military or to work in the coal mines. Nicey Ann died in 1937. The population dwindled until 1949 when Sherman Hensley was the only resident. When Hensley finally abandoned the property in 1951, the settlement fell into disrepair. Hensley died in 1979 and is buried beside Nicey Ann at the settlement cemetery, among thirty-six other graves.
The National Park Service runs the Appalachian Hensley Settlement as a living history museum and conducts tours of its forty-five settlement structures and agriculture environment May through October.
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
living history
Living history
Living history is an activity that incorporates historical tools, activities and dress into an interactive presentation that seeks to give observers and participants a sense of stepping back in time. Although it does not necessarily seek to reenact a specific event in history, living history is...
museum on Brush Mountain, Bell County, Kentucky
Bell County, Kentucky
Bell County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed August 1, 1867, from parts of Knox and Harlan Counties and augmented from Knox County in 1872. As of 2010 the population was 69,060. Its county seat is Pineville...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The settlement is part of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
Established on June 11, 1940, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located at the border between Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia. The Cumberland Gap is a sizable natural break in the Appalachian Mountains....
. It is located approximately 10 miles (16.1 km) north of the park visitor center on Ridge Trail, and contains twelve homestead log cabins, a one-room school house, and a blacksmith shop. A restored spring house
Spring house
A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building used for refrigeration once commonly found in rural areas before the advent of electric refrigeration. It is usually a one-room building constructed over the source of a spring. The water of the spring maintains a constant cool temperature...
on the property was used by the settlement as food storage. The settlement was established by in-laws Sherman Hensley and Willy Gibbons, and most inhabitants belonged to either the Hensley or Gibbons family. The last resident was Sherman Hensley, who left in 1951. The school and some forty-five settlement structures and the agriculture environment were restored to their original state in the 1960s by the Job Corps
Job Corps
Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free-of-charge education and vocational training to youth ages 16 to 24.-Mission and purpose:...
.
Background
The settlement dates back to 1845 when Governor William OwsleyWilliam Owsley
William Owsley was an associate justice on the Kentucky Court of Appeals and the 16th Governor of Kentucky. He also served in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly and was Kentucky Secretary of State under Governor James Turner Morehead.Owsley studied law under John Boyle...
deeded 500 acre (2 km²; 0.781250690760893 sq mi) on top of Brush Mountain in the Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
. Brothers C. and R.M. Bales, who received the land from Owsley, leased the acreage to John Nichols and Jim Nelson, who mostly used the property for livestock. They cleared the property and made some improvements, including the construction of shake-roofed chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
log cabins.
Hensley
In 1903, Barton Hensley Sr. purchased the entire acreage and divided it up into sixteen individual properties for his extended family. Hog farmer Sherman Hensley and his wife Nicey Ann, Barton Sr.'s daughter, moved into an existing lob cabin on her allotted twenty-one acres. The couple purchased an additional thirty-three acres. The following year, Nicey's niece Nancy and her husband Willy Gibbons also moved to the self-sustaining settlement. Most of the inhabitants of the settlement were either named Hensley or Gibbons. The settlement never had electricity, indoor plumbing, modern roads or other conveniences. Everything was grown, raised and hand-made in the settlement. Transportation was either walking or a horse ride. A spring houseSpring house
A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building used for refrigeration once commonly found in rural areas before the advent of electric refrigeration. It is usually a one-room building constructed over the source of a spring. The water of the spring maintains a constant cool temperature...
was used for food storage.
School house
In 1908, Bell County provided a teacher for the newly erected one-room school house. Originally the school house was little more than a lean-to, erected so the Bell County Superintendent of Schools would agree to send a teacher for the settlement children. The school taught students up through the 8th grade. By the time the school closed in 1947, four different structures had served as the Brush Mountain school. The final structure was a log cabin that was heated by a wood and coal stove made of cast iron and located in the middle of the room. The school had no indoor plumbing or electricity. The student desks were made of wood and cast iron.Later years
The population peaked at about 100 in 1925. During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
residents moved away to either join the military or to work in the coal mines. Nicey Ann died in 1937. The population dwindled until 1949 when Sherman Hensley was the only resident. When Hensley finally abandoned the property in 1951, the settlement fell into disrepair. Hensley died in 1979 and is buried beside Nicey Ann at the settlement cemetery, among thirty-six other graves.
Today
The settlement was dedicated as part of the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park on July 4, 1959. The National Parks Service and the Job Corps began making improvements in 1965, restoring some forty-five settlement structures and agriculture environment to its original state.The National Park Service runs the Appalachian Hensley Settlement as a living history museum and conducts tours of its forty-five settlement structures and agriculture environment May through October.