Durwod Dunn (1943–2014)

This is a well-researched, definitive history of the Cades Cove community which eventually was taken over by the National Park Service as part of Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

The end result is very sad and disappointing because the National Park Service has its own ideas of what visitors to this extremely popular national park should see and learn, and the presented perception has very little to do with the actual history of this tight-knit Appalachian community and the eminent domain show more takeover by the NPS. show less

Cades Cove, Tennessee, 1818-1937. This is one of the best-researched books I've found about the time and the area. It's in part a correction of earlier stereotypes of the Appalachian mountaineer. Dunn was the grandson of the last man to leave the cove, so his interest in the subject is personal. He is professor of history and political science at Tennessee Wesleyan College, so he writes as a historian.

Dunn weaves the story of generations of the Oliver family throughout the book. John Oliver show more was a leader in the community, a progressive farmer who helped his neighbors get the most out of their land. He also waged a heroic battle in the courts in his effort to resist the government breaking up his community by declaring eminent domain. He and his neighbors lost that battle, and he was forced off his land where his family had farmed for four generations.

I give the book only a four because of its organization. The chapters seem to have been written independently of one another, so there is some overlap and repetition. show less