Noah Ogle Place
Encyclopedia
The Noah "Bud" Ogle Place was a homestead located in the Great Smoky Mountains
of Sevier County
, in the U.S. state of Tennessee
. The homestead presently consists of a cabin, barn, and tub mill
built by mountain farmer Noah "Bud" Ogle (1863–1913) in the late 19th-century. In 1977, the homestead was added to the National Register of Historic Places
and is currently maintained by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
.
The surviving structures at the Noah Ogle Place are characteristic of a typical 19th-century Southern Appalachia
n mountain farm. Ogle's cabin is a type known as a "saddlebag" cabin (two single-pen cabins joined by a common chimney), which was a relatively rare design in the region. Ogle's barn is an excellent example of a four-pen barn, a design once common in the area, although this barn is the last remaining four-pen barn in the park. Ogle's tub mill is the park's last surviving operational tub mill and one of the few operational tub mills in the region. A later owner of the Ogle farm renamed the farm "Junglebrook," and the farm is thus sometimes referred to as the "Junglebrook Historic District."
. Gatlinburg
lies opposite the park boundary to the north, Roaring Fork
lies opposite the hills to the east, the Sugarlands lies opposite the hills to the west, and Mount Le Conte rises to the south. Cherokee Orchard Road (still occasionally referred to as Airport Road) connects the Noah Ogle Place to U.S. Route 441
in downtown Gatlinburg to the north and to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail to the south. The site's tub mill is situated on the banks of LeConte Creek, approximately 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) from the cabin and barn.
campus in downtown Gatlinburg). The Ogles' descendants quickly spread out into the adjacent river and creek valleys. Noah Ogle's farm originally consisted of 400 acres (161.9 ha), although by the early 20th century he had subdivided his land among his children, and retained only 150 acres (60.7 ha). These last 150 acre (0.607029 km²) comprise the bulk of the Bud Ogle Farm historic district.
Ogle's cabin and outbuildings were built in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The land was poor and rocky (the National Park Service later claimed it was "unsuitable" for farming), and Ogle mostly grew corn. The land did include a sizeable apple orchard which grew multiple types of apples. Ogle's relatives were allowed free use of his tub mill, while others were charged a small percentage of meal. Excess corn and apples were shipped to markets in Knoxville. Ogle's wife, Lucinda Bradley Ogle, was a local midwife.
Along with the surviving structures and typical mountain farm outbuildings, Ogle's farm included a so-called "weaner cabin." A weaner cabin was typically a small cabin near the main house where the farmer's children could live for a brief period after marrying. Several of Ogle's sons lived in the Ogle weaner cabin after their respective marriages. The weaner cabin is no longer standing, although a pile of rubble remains from its foundation.
In the 1920s, several investors established a 796 acres (322.1 ha) commercial apple orchard and ornamental nursery known as "Cherokee Orchard" just south of the Ogle homestead. When the Tennessee Park Commission began buying up property for the creation of the national park in the late 1920s, the owners of Cherokee Orchard threatened to fight a major appropriations for bill for the park's funding if their land was condemned. The orchard's owners dropped their opposition in 1931 in exchange for a long lease on the property.
, with six doors (one on the front and back wall of each cabin, and two next to the chimney to allow quick passage between the two buildings). Each cabin has a split-oak shingled roof, a sawn board floor, and hearths made of rubble. The cabin's windows were initially shuttered, but eventually replaced with glass. One cabin has a small window near the floor that allowed chickens to enter to escape predators. A covered porch spans both the front and back walls of both cabins.
Great Smoky Mountains
The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range rising along the Tennessee–North Carolina border in the southeastern United States. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains or the...
of Sevier County
Sevier County, Tennessee
Sevier County is a county of the state of Tennessee, United States. Its population was 71,170 at the 2000 United States Census. It is included in the Sevierville, Tennessee, Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN Combined Statistical Area. The...
, in the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. The homestead presently consists of a cabin, barn, and tub mill
Gristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
built by mountain farmer Noah "Bud" Ogle (1863–1913) in the late 19th-century. In 1977, the homestead was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
and is currently maintained by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. The border between Tennessee and North...
.
The surviving structures at the Noah Ogle Place are characteristic of a typical 19th-century Southern Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
n mountain farm. Ogle's cabin is a type known as a "saddlebag" cabin (two single-pen cabins joined by a common chimney), which was a relatively rare design in the region. Ogle's barn is an excellent example of a four-pen barn, a design once common in the area, although this barn is the last remaining four-pen barn in the park. Ogle's tub mill is the park's last surviving operational tub mill and one of the few operational tub mills in the region. A later owner of the Ogle farm renamed the farm "Junglebrook," and the farm is thus sometimes referred to as the "Junglebrook Historic District."
Location
The Noah Ogle Place is situated near LeConte Creek (formerly known as Mill Creek) in the upper drainage of the West Fork of the Little Pigeon RiverLittle Pigeon River (Tennessee)
The Little Pigeon River is a river located entirely within Sevier County, Tennessee.It rises from a series of streams which flow together on the dividing ridge between the states of Tennessee and North Carolina inside the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The river is subdivided...
. Gatlinburg
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, Gatlinburg had a population of 3,828. The city is a popular vacation resort, as it rests on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S...
lies opposite the park boundary to the north, Roaring Fork
Roaring Fork (Great Smoky Mountains)
Roaring Fork is a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. Once the site of a small Appalachian community, today the stream's area is home to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and the Roaring Fork Historic District.Like many mountain streams,...
lies opposite the hills to the east, the Sugarlands lies opposite the hills to the west, and Mount Le Conte rises to the south. Cherokee Orchard Road (still occasionally referred to as Airport Road) connects the Noah Ogle Place to U.S. Route 441
U.S. Route 441
U.S. Route 441 is a spur route of U.S. Route 41. It currently runs for 939 miles from U.S. Route 41 in Miami, Florida to U.S. Route 25W in Lake City, Tennessee. Between its termini, US 441 passes through the states of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee...
in downtown Gatlinburg to the north and to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail to the south. The site's tub mill is situated on the banks of LeConte Creek, approximately 0.5 mile (0.80467 km) from the cabin and barn.
History
Noah Ogle's great-grandparents, William Ogle (1756–1803) and his wife Martha Huskey (1756–1826), were the first Euro-American settlers in the Gatlinburg area, arriving in the early 19th century (their cabin still stands on the Arrowmont SchoolArrowmont School of Arts and Crafts
The Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts is an arts and crafts center in the U.S. city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The oldest craft school in Tennessee, Arrowmont offers workshops in arts and crafts such as painting, woodworking, glassblowing, photography, basket weaving, and metalworking, and...
campus in downtown Gatlinburg). The Ogles' descendants quickly spread out into the adjacent river and creek valleys. Noah Ogle's farm originally consisted of 400 acres (161.9 ha), although by the early 20th century he had subdivided his land among his children, and retained only 150 acres (60.7 ha). These last 150 acre (0.607029 km²) comprise the bulk of the Bud Ogle Farm historic district.
Ogle's cabin and outbuildings were built in the late 1880s and early 1890s. The land was poor and rocky (the National Park Service later claimed it was "unsuitable" for farming), and Ogle mostly grew corn. The land did include a sizeable apple orchard which grew multiple types of apples. Ogle's relatives were allowed free use of his tub mill, while others were charged a small percentage of meal. Excess corn and apples were shipped to markets in Knoxville. Ogle's wife, Lucinda Bradley Ogle, was a local midwife.
Along with the surviving structures and typical mountain farm outbuildings, Ogle's farm included a so-called "weaner cabin." A weaner cabin was typically a small cabin near the main house where the farmer's children could live for a brief period after marrying. Several of Ogle's sons lived in the Ogle weaner cabin after their respective marriages. The weaner cabin is no longer standing, although a pile of rubble remains from its foundation.
In the 1920s, several investors established a 796 acres (322.1 ha) commercial apple orchard and ornamental nursery known as "Cherokee Orchard" just south of the Ogle homestead. When the Tennessee Park Commission began buying up property for the creation of the national park in the late 1920s, the owners of Cherokee Orchard threatened to fight a major appropriations for bill for the park's funding if their land was condemned. The orchard's owners dropped their opposition in 1931 in exchange for a long lease on the property.
Historic structures
Noah Ogle cabin
The Noah Ogle cabin consists of two cabins sharing a single chimney, known as a "saddlebag" cabin. The cabins were built approximately five years apart, the second cabin being added as Ogle's family grew. Both cabins measure 18 feet (5.5 m) by 20 feet (6.1 m), and each consists of one story and a loft. The cabin's walls consist of hewn logs connected by half-dovetail notchesDovetail joint
A dovetail joint or simply dovetail is a joint technique most commonly used in woodworking joinery. Noted for its resistance to being pulled apart , the dovetail joint is commonly used to join the sides of a drawer to the front....
, with six doors (one on the front and back wall of each cabin, and two next to the chimney to allow quick passage between the two buildings). Each cabin has a split-oak shingled roof, a sawn board floor, and hearths made of rubble. The cabin's windows were initially shuttered, but eventually replaced with glass. One cabin has a small window near the floor that allowed chickens to enter to escape predators. A covered porch spans both the front and back walls of both cabins.