Stretching from Alabama andNorth Georgia to Maine, the Appalachian mountain range was formed millions of years ago before being settled by Native Americans and, later, Scots-Irish, English, German, and Polish immigrants. Though its hard to say why stories of unexplained phenomena pop up in these mountains, Rivers says that fear can easily get the best of people. Appalachian culture is known for superstitions and legends like these. Read on to find three of our favorite Smoky Mountain ghost stories. It was leaning forward making a hump where its neck and back join, says Smith. . But it was rocked by an unidentifiable visitor on November 12, 1966, when gravediggers at a cemetery in Clendenin, West Virginia, about 80 miles from Point Pleasant, claimed to see a man with wings lift off from a tree and fly over their heads. Unlike the first national parks out west, which were originally reached by trains and where visitors stayed in grand hotels financed by railroad companies, Great Smoky National Parkcame together with support and input from auto organizations like the American Automobile Associations (AAA). The Little Tennessee River passes through five impediments along the range's southwestern boundary, namely Tellico Lake, Chilhowee Lake, Calderwood Lake, Cheoah Lake, and Fontana Lake. It doesn't take long to see why Great Smoky Mountains is the most visited national park in the United States. Five of the world's nine families of salamanders are found in the range, consisting of up to thirty-one species. Over 1,500 additional flowering plant species have been identified in the park. Here are the top leaf-peeping spots in the US for 2022. Lucy of Roaring Fork Lonely Planets Great Smoky Mountains National Park is your passport to the most relevant, up-to-date advice on what to see and skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. [3] The Albright Grove along the Maddron Bald Trail (between Gatlinburg and Cosby) is an accessible old-growth forest with some of the oldest and tallest trees in the entire range.[25]. The crest of the Great Smokies runs in an unbroken chain of peaks for over 36 miles. The Great Smoky Mountains are home to 66 species of mammals, over 240 species of birds, 43 species of amphibians, 60 species of fish, and 40 species of reptiles. Instead, the word referred to a ghost or hobgoblin. The story of the Bell Witch is one of the most popular examples of Appalachian Mountain folklore, and it began in Robertson County, Tennessee. Below is our list of the top offbeat attractions in the Great Smoky Mountains: 1. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission. Elevations in the park range from 850 to over 6,000 feet; a change in elevation that mimics the climate and habitat variations found from Georgia to Maine. Along with convincing logging firms to sell lucrative lumber rights, the Park Commission had to negotiate the purchase of thousands of small farms and remove entire communities. If you spill salt, throw a pinch over your left shoulder so you wont have bad luck. Born and raised in town, Wamsley was only five years old when the Mothman showed up and began terrorizing his neighbors. Read more. Spread across 500,000 acres in the Southern Appalachian range, the park is a four-season wonderland, famous for both its colorful spring wildflowers and the fiery blazes of autumn. If you hear things that go bump in the night and you swear you dont have a pipe rattling or anything like that, you think its a spirit, he says. Trout in the Smokies are generally smaller than other members of their species in different locales. Fort Mountain, a Georgia State Park near Ellijay GA, contains the ruins of an 850-foot-long stone wall that is said to have been constructed by the mysterious tribe. Intrigued, May, her sons, and some other local boys, headed out to the farm. Never feed animals by hand, dispose of trash properly in approved receptacles, and use bear canisters or bear lockers to keep your snacks from attracting critters to your campsite. Species common in the northern states find suitable habitats at the higher elevations. [30], The spruce-fir forestalso called the "boreal" or "Canadian" forestis a relict of the ice ages, when mean annual temperatures in the Smokies were too cold to support a hardwood forest. Expand. Theres no doubt about Bigfoots existence in Phil Smiths eyes. Wherever youre coming from, youll want a car, as theres no scheduled bus service to the park nor any public transit available inside of it once you get there. The Flatwoods incident was only the second or third of its kindand probably the first with so many witnesses. The results are predictions of where the species might likely be found in the park. Legend says that the local Native American tribes waited for the full moon to drive the Moon-Eyed People from their underground caves. The 1540 expedition of Hernando de Soto and the 1567 expedition of Juan Pardo passed through the French Broad River valley north of the Smokies, both spending a considerable amount of time at Chiaha. She talked Betsy into breaking off the engagement with Joshua. A short time later, the poltergeist said she was going to leave but promised to return in seven years. [42] Bald eagles and golden eagles have been spotted at all elevations in the park. The range is sometimes called the Smoky Mountains and the name is commonly shortened to the Smokies. Located in Sevier County, this area is officially known as Oldham, but it is far more famous for its unusual nickname. Instead, all but one of the parks nine frontcountry campgrounds can be reserved online. The rhododendrons are broadleafs, whose leaves droop in order to shed wet and heavy snows that come through the region during winter. The largest stream entirely within the park is Abrams Creek, which rises in Cades Cove and empties into the Chilhowee Lake impoundment of the Little Tennessee River near Chilhowee Dam. READ MORE:The 15 Best North Carolina Mountain Towns to Visit. Never leave a rocking chair rocking, or you will invite spirits. The first logging operations in the Smokies, which began in the 1880s, used splash dams or booms to float logs down rivers to lumber mills in nearby cities. Balds include grassy balds, which are highland meadows covered primarily by thick grasses, and heath balds, which are dense thickets of rhododendron and mountain laurel typically occurring on narrow ridges. Streams in the Smokies are part of the Tennessee River watershed and are thus entirely west of the Eastern Continental Divide. Today you can celebrate this mythical Appalachian monster at the Bigfoot Festival in Marion NC. Learn more about the park's fee program changes for 2023, including a new initiative: the Smokies Parking Tag program. 107 Park Headquarters Road The Great Smoky Mountains (Cherokee: , Equa Dutsusdu Dodalv) are a mountain range rising along the TennesseeNorth Carolina border in the southeastern United States. Mollusks, millipedes, and mushrooms reach record diversity here. Nevertheless, the soldiers sighting of a booger gave the town its memorable name. There are numerous supernatural legends originating in the Great Smoky Mountains. Treat bear encounters with extreme caution! The Smokies are one of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, formed perhaps 200-300 million years ago. [88], Wilson B. Townsend, the head of Little River Lumber, began advertising Elkmont as a tourist destination in 1909. After John Bells death, things began to return to normal on the Bell farm until Betsy Bell, the Bells youngest daughter, became engaged to a local man named Joshua Gardner. If youre flying in, the closest airport to the park is Knoxvilles McGhee Tyson Airport (about a 70-minute drive to the one of the parks main gateways near Gatlinburg). It is possible those that have vanished in the Smokies were the victims of bears or wild hogs. READ MORE:30 Fascinating Blue Ridge Mountains Facts, READ MORE: The 15 Best Fall Festivals in Georgia. Wanda Stalcup is the Director of the Cherokee County Historical Museum in Murphy, N.C. [39] The National Park Service has successfully reintroduced river otters and elk into the Great Smokies. Aside from crowds of hikers, campers, and general tourists, there's a dark side to . In July 2016 the Charlotte Observer reported that Forest Service officers had reported close-up encounters on the mountain with beach ball sized orbs that floated by and then vanished. There are over 800 miles of trails, ranging from easy rambles along scenic boulder-filled streams to challenging all-day hikes. Hardwood trees moved into the region from the coastal plains, replacing the spruce-fir forests in the lower elevations. When the creature hissed at them, they fled. [60] Fortified Mississippian-period villages have been excavated at the McMahan Indian Mounds in Sevierville and more recently in Townsend. 1. John and Lucy Bell were farmers who settled in Adams, Tennessee around 1803. Kate re-avowed her scorn and disapproval about Betsy Bells upcoming marriage, says Fitzhugh. The Wampus Cat (a.k.a. To punish him, the witch set her sights on the man, giving him a beating that had Jacksons men begging to leave. The bright light made them weak, forcing them to flee into other parts of Appalachia for good. With such biodiversity, how can park visitors and researchers learn where to find plants, animals and other organisms in the park? According to author Julia Montgomery Street, whose tale of this mysterious race is displayed in the Cherokee County Historical Museum, the men possessed all the land from the Little Tennessee River to Kentucky, with a line of fortification from one end of their domain to the other. The men, who lived in rounded log cabins, had large blue eyes and fair white skin and were sun-blind during the day, emerging from their homes only at night to hunt, fish, wage war and build their fortifications. They are one of 146 native land snail species in the park. [68], The Cherokee Middle towns included the village of Kittowa (which the Cherokee believed to be their oldest village) along the Tuckasegee River near Bryson City. Ruins of Ritter's lumbering operations are still visible along the Hazel Creek Trail. Visibility now is dramatically reduced by smog from both the Southeastern United States and the Midwest, and smog forecasts are prepared daily by the Environmental Protection Agency for both nearby Knoxville, Tennessee and Asheville, North Carolina. 37738, Download the official NPS app before your next visit. READ MORE: Visiting Expedition Bigfoot Museum (AKA Sasquatch Museum) in Cherry Log, GA. Found in the Blue Ridge Mountains ofNorth Carolina, the Brown Mountain Lights are a true Appalachian mountain mystery. These are the best hikes to add to your list for 2023. Legend tells of a brutal battle betweenCherokee and Catawba warriorson Brown Mountain,which left many dead on the battlefield. The forests of the Smokies are typically divided into three zones: Appalachian baldspatches of land where trees are unexpectedly absent or sparseare interspersed through the mid-to-upper elevations in the range. Three days later, two young couples were driving together near an abandoned World War II TNT plant about five miles north of Point Pleasant when they saw a large flying man with 10-foot wings, and eyes that glowed red. They tried to flee the unidentified animal, speeding down the road at a reported 100 miles per hour, but the creature followed them back to Point Pleasant city limits. One Cherokee legend tells of a magical lake hidden deep within the range, but inaccessible to humans. Although much of the tribe was forced west along the Trail of Tears in 1838, a fewlargely through the efforts of William Holland Thomasmanaged to retain their land on the Qualla Boundary and today comprise the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. [61][62], Most of these villages were part of a minor chiefdom centered on a large village known as Chiaha, which was located on an island now submerged by Douglas Lake. Back in 1966, Point Pleasant, West Virginialocated at the confluence of the Ohio and Kanawha Riverswas a sleepy town of a couple thousand people. 3 Tall Tales from the Great Smoky Mountains, 8 Shocking Secrets of Cades Cove You Wont Believe, 3 Cherokee Legends from the Great Smoky Mountains, How To Park For Free at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Everything You Need to Know About Elkmont Ghost Town, 5 Ways Camping in the Smoky Mountains Saves You Money on Your Trip, 5 of the Top Places to Grab Breakfast in Sevierville, 5 Tips for Finding the Perfect Smoky Mountain Cabin Rental. Jerry Crew, a logging company employee, discovered a set of extra-large footprints in Six Rivers National Forest. And while the areas bears and fireflies get most of the publicity, the Cataloochee Valley is a prime spot to see elk, reintroduced to the Smokies back in 2001. Some believe they were descendants of a small group of Welshmen who came to America long before the Spanish and settled in the Smoky Mountains around 1170. While both Tennessee and North Carolina joined the Confederacy at the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Union sentiment in the Great Smoky Mountains was much stronger relative to other regions in these two states. Theres much more to experience in the Palmetto State than beautiful shorelines and dreamy marshes. Here are three of our favorite tall tales from the Smokies: In their book The Granny Curse and Other Ghosts and Legends from East Tennessee, authors Randy Russell and Janet Barnett share the story of a marital spat with supernatural consequences. As with much of the southern Blue Ridge, the area qualifies as part of the Appalachian Rainforest. When you're exploring the wilderness, it's better to be safe than to be a statistic! The company also established company towns at Townsend (named for the company's chief owner and manager, Wilson B. Townsend), Elkmont, and Tremont. From Cherokee legends to tall tales from Cades Cove, the Smokies are brimming with supernatural yarns that have been passed down for generations. For the canoeing crowd, Fontana Lake - in Bryson, North Carolina - is loaded with turns without rocky hindrances. Cherokee chief William Holland Thomas formed a Confederate legion made up mostly of Cherokee soldiers. Jane Goodall has even weighed in on Bigfoots existence, telling reporters that she wants to believe that Bigfoot is real. They do not have ears, but can sense sound vibrations through the ground. 2023 Visit My Smokies, The ONLY site you need to plan your Smoky Mountain vacation, is a website owned and operated by Sevier County, Tennessee. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Smith says that what makes the Flatwoods Monster so interesting is that there werent many UFO sightings back in the 1950s. Whether our collective imaginations are running wild or were really sensing something otherworldly, stories of ghosts, UFOs, terrifying man-sized animals, and other hair-raising tales abound in these Blue Ridge Mountains. While reported sightings of the colorful lights are known for their inconsistency, the lights are typically seen at night, especially after a rainfall. They are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains, and form part of the Blue Ridge Physiographic Province.

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