People don't live in Cades Cove anymore. But there are still bibles there!
Cades Cove, TN, is an isolated valley in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Located on the border between Tennessee and North Carolina, Great Smoky Mountains National Park draws approximately 10,000,000 visitors each year...the most visited national park in the nation.
Cades Cove is a favorite destination for many of the visitors to the park. Settled in the early 1800's, the cove became a population center, somewhat isolated from the rest of the world. At one time approximately 600 people lived there.
Residents of Cades Cove had to move out when the national park was opened. The Cove was kept as a "living museum" so that present day visitors could see how the pioneers of the area lived.
Several of the old pioneer cabins are still standing, and the Cades Cove cabins are maintained by the National Park Service. There are also 3 churches dating from the 1800's still standing in the Cove, and open to the public.
Each of the Cades Cove churches has a collection of bibles. These bibles have been left there by visitors to the church, usually in memory of a loved one who had died and who loved the mountains, and particularly Cades Cove, in life. Some of the bibles have prayer requests for loved ones, and invite anyone who has a need for healing prayer to write their prayer request in the bible, so that other visitors can pray for them.
The bibles contain wedding announcements, at least two proposals of marriage, messages to loved ones in Heaven, and prayers for people with terminal illnesses. Favorite bible verses are quoted.
Pictures of the pages of the bibles can be found at http://cadescovebibles.historystreasure.com. These bibles are proof that some people still believe in the power of prayer.
About the Author
Rex McDaniel is a retired Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor and Psychometrist who now works as a teacher's assistant in a Special Education class. He enjoys traveling and photographing in the
East Tennessee area where he now lives. His website at http://cadescovebibles.historystreasure.com is the result of a visit to Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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