Cataloochee Valley

Chatalooche Valley is a part of the Great Smoky Mountainss National Park, it was obtained by the national park service around 1928. The park service decided to take the valley under it's wing due to the increasing interest in the area from tourists and to save the land from logging.
Initially, the residents of the valley were strongly opposed to the idea of their valley being purchased by the government. The families in the valley had deep roots and loved the valley, they did not want the government to interfer in their lives.

The government offered the residents lifetime leases on their property and the ability to stay in theIr homes for as long as they lived. Although many of the residents were not in favor of the government taking over the valley they realized the alternative was not very attractive. The timber companies were stripping the land of trees and it was only a matter of time before the valley would be devastated. The government's offer was accepted by most of the valley residents and the valley became a part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

But as many residents had feared, the restrictionss placed on farming and logging forced most everyone out of the valley. By 1943, there were no more of the original families in the valley.

The name Cataloochee was derived from the Cherokee, "Gadaluts", loose translation, meaning fringe standing erect. The Cherokee used the valley primarily as a hunting ground as it was rich in wildlife and well protected by the mountains.

Settlers found the valley as inviting as the Cherokee and began settling the valley in the 1700's. The Cherokee and settlers seemed to live peacefully for several years. In 1791, the Cherokee gave up rights to the valley in the Treaty of Holston(a treaty between the United States and the Cherokee Nation) and moved on.

Early settlers of Cataloochee Valley were James Colwell(Caldwell), Young Bennett, George Palmer, Jonathan Woody. Sol Sutton, Ellijah Messer, William Nolan and Evan Hannah. In 1860, the population of the valley consisted of about 160 settlers. These settlers had fertile land, grassy balds perfect for pastures, plenty of water and a secluded valley filled with wildlife.

When the Civil War began in 1861, the valley was primarily pro-confederate. The valley was used as a hideout for deserters due to the remoteness of the valley. Both the confederate army and the Union Army raided and looted the valley. Just as anywhere else in the South, Cataloochee valley was adversely affected by the conflict going on around it, remote or not there was no escaping the war.

By 1900, the valley was thought to have a population of about 764. The valley was growing and due to a cool climate orchards seemed to thrive. .

The valley was very lucky in the fact that the logging industry had not reached the area before the US government saw the tourist potential of the area and declared it a National Park. Many mountains in the nearby area were stripped of trees by logging in the 1920's, but the Cataloochee valley was remote enough the loggers had not reached it by 1928. Today, the valley has some of the largest trees in North Carolina or Tennessee.

The valley was declared a protected area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1928. The park service has preserved many of the buildings built in the early 1900's. Visiting the valley now is a treat as many of the buidings are reminders of the past and the land is much as it was in the 1900's, forested with big hardwoods.

Elk were brought to the valley in 2001. Originally, there were 25 elk brought to the valley from the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area . In 2002, another 27 elk were brought into the valley.. All elk are radio collared and monitored.

Elk once roamed the southern Appalachian Mountains but they were eliminated from the region by over-hunting and loss of habitat. The last elk in North Carolina was believed to have been killed in the late 1700s and in Tennessee, in the mid-1800s. By 1900, the population of elk in North America was headed for extinction.

Cataloochee valley is a place where the elk now roam again.

All photos in this lens are available at NaturesGlory