16 Visiting The Smokies Summer 2020
Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center brings history to life PHOTOS SUBMITTED BY THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS HERITAGE CENTER
The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center preserves the history of the region by bringing it to life. More than a museum, the center’s mission is to “preserve, interpret and share the history and culture” of the people who have inhabited the Southern Appalachians. “There’s a lot more than meets the eye at the Heritage Center. We have really an immersive experience,” Executive Director Brent Lambert explained. This summer the center is adding even more, with some planned before the COVID-19 pandemic and some emerging in response to health guidelines. In early May the center reopened its Historic Village, home to 13 buildings that visitors can walk through and see furnished as they would have been at the time they were in use, from rope beds in cabins to the equipment in the wheelwright’s shop. Many of the buildings were taken down and reconstructed on the site. Before even entering the Heritage Center, visitors can stop at the Isaac Anderson cabin beside the road. The oldest building on the site, constructed in 1802, it features panels that tell the story of the man who founded what would become Maryville College more than 200 years ago. The center is adding a map at the cabin to show visitors how much more there is to experience. “They’ll be able to see there’s an entire village just up this hill,” Lambert said.
On June 20, the Heritage Center reopened its galleries, which house several permanent exhibits. The National Parks Gallery features not only the history and artifacts of the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park but four others in the region: Big South Fork, Obed Wild & Scenic River, Cumberland Gap and Andrew Johnson. The Native American Life exhibit includes stone tools, pottery and other artifacts unearthed in one of the largest archaeological dig projects in Tennessee history. East Tennessee Mountain Culture is, of course, a permanent exhibit, along with a Transportation Station, which includes a Ford Model T and horse-drawn transport, from a surrey to a reproduction of a Civil War cannon, just donated to the center. At press time the center was working on plans for another permanent exhibit, which Lambert could not reveal but said would be “a tremendous opportunity.” The Heritage Center works with the national park staff to feature temporary exhibits too. Although work was delayed because of the pandemic, Lambert was hopeful that by mid-summer a quilt exhibit featuring the Walker Sisters will be ready for visitors. Continue to page 17
