Cades Cove is located in the far western Tennessee section of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.  This beautiful slice of Heaven on Earth stretches five miles in length by two miles in width and is completely surrounded by living mountains. European descendents first settled Cades Cove in 1818, as the majority journeyed from the Watauga Settlement in northeast Tennessee.  But, prior to their arrival, Cades Cove was a cherished   Read More ...

Freedom is not given, it is taken.  As a result, we are as free as we choose to be.  Free enough to help an unemployed neighbor fix his car so he can find a job.  Free enough to find housing for and feed an elderly couple abandoned by their children.  Free enough to protect a child from abusive parents.  Because freedom is a choice, we will be free. Freedom is   Read More ...

In the fall of 1861, The State of Tennessee held a special election to determine if a convention would be needed to decide to remain with, or cede from the US. The citizens overwhelmingly chose to continue in the Union by almost 65,000 votes. However, when Abraham Lincoln later called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion that ignited in South Carolina, Tennessee changed her mind. Still, a strong   Read More ...

“Almsgiving (the act of voluntary giving) tends to perpetuate poverty; aid does away with it once and for all. Almsgiving leaves a man just where he was before. Aid restores him to society as an individual worthy of all respect and not as a man with a grievance. Almsgiving is the generosity of the rich; social aid levels up social inequalities. Charity separates the rich from the poor; aid raises   Read More ...

The Sevierville Chamber of Commerce will be breaking new marketing ground on Thursday September 10 from 4-6pm, when they host their first Business After Hours for the Sevierville 407 Merchants Group.  Usually, the Business After Hours program is focused on one Sevierville Chamber member business.  This time, for the first time, the Chamber will feature some 15 member businesses located in the Sevierville 407 marketplace. This event is the brainchild   Read More ...

By the time Thomas “Andrew” Byrd graduated from Sevier County High School in 1972, the young man was unable to decide upon a lasting vocation. Subsequently, after much reflection – considering the Viet Nam conflict had yet to be resolved – Andrew joined the Army. For three years, Byrd performed as a “field lineman,” physically running the wires from place to place that provided communications. Much of his time was   Read More ...

In 1821, David Crockett was elected to the Tennessee State Legislature, and reelected to that position two years later. Then, he served three of four terms in the US Congress from 1827 through 1835. After failing to win a 4th term in the 1834 election, Davy Crockett went to Texas. Crockett was a steadfast advocate against wasteful government spending and in his most memorable speech “Not Yours to Give“, he   Read More ...

Before Tennessee had even been imagined, Sevier County was formed in September 1794. The place takes its name from John Sevier, the only governor of the almost state of Franklin, as well as the first man to later govern Tennessee, which he did on two occasions. Sevier was a very important character during the early turbulent years of the settlement of the remarkable mountainous region we call home today. Shortly   Read More ...