Walker Valley Living History Resources
U.S. and World (1915-1925)
In 1915, the first telephone call, from New York to San Francisco, was accomplished by
Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Watson. The United States entered the Great War (now
called World War I) in 1917. The war ended in November, 1918. Also in 1918, an influenza epidemic killed an estimated 20 million people world-wide, 548,000 in the U.S. The first transatlantic flight was made by a U.S. Navy Seaplane in 1919. The trip, which began in New
York, was made in 19 days, with stops in Newfoundland, Azores, and ending in Lisbon. Two
constitutional amendments were ratified during this time period. The first, the 18th Amendment in 1919, legalized Prohibition. The second, the 19th Amendment, in 1920, gave women
the right to vote. The first sound-on-film motion picture was shown in 1923. Some notable inventions during this time period included stainless steel (1916), the automatic toaster (1918),
and automobiles, which began to appear in the area regularly in the early 1920s.
Pioneer Era
William Marion Walker married Nancy Caylor in 1859 and moved to the Middle Prong
of the Little River, where they became the first settlers in this area. The valley soon became
known as Walker Valley. It has been said that Will, known as Big Will to most, and Nancy
read their Bible regularly. Will noted that God had blessed and granted prosperity to David
and other men of olden times who chose to have more than one wife. Therefore, in about
1864, Big Will brought into the home a second wife, Mary Ann Moore, sister of Loon Grant
Moore (Big Will’s son-in-law.) Nancy is said to have cared for Mary Ann and her seven
children, all of whom grew to adulthood. It is supposed that Nancy learned from Big Will’s
mother (Aunt Polly) to be a midwife for her valley just as Aunt Polly had been for Tuckaleechee. Later Big Will built a cabin for Mary Ann and her seven children on the west side of
the river, probably near the bridge into Tremont. Later, with no more children in his home, he
took a third wife, Mary (called Moll which was short for Molly) Stinnett, who was the sister
of Preacher John Stinnett, another son-in-law of Big Will’s. Moll and Will had 12 children,
only one of whom died in infancy. He built a cabin for her and her children down the river
near the location of Tremont’s sewage lagoon. This brought the total of Will’s children to 26
by 3 wives. Since only the children of Nancy could legally bear the name of Walker, the children of each of the other two wives bore their mother’s names. There are many descendants
by the common-law wives who come back to the valley and cemetery once a year, the first
Sunday in June, for decoration day and homecoming.
Big Will was a man of many talents and was well liked. In a clipping from a newspaper,
a reporter said that when Big Will was 79 and very active, he could “jump up and clap his
heels together twice before he landed.” It was said that during the Civil War, when many of
his neighbors from Cades Cove were off fighting, Will traveled from house to house and cut
firewood for people who had no one at home to do it for them. He was also a good hunter
and sharp shooter, made water tight oak buckets, and was a master beekeeper. At one time
he had over 100 “bee gums” (hives made from hollowed-out black gum logs) in his yard and
more on Thunderhead Prong. He traded the valued honey in Tuckaleechee (now Townsend).
He also built three grist mills on his property used for grinding corn meal.
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Lumbering Era
After the war, logging companies came into the area. Although Walker Valley was the
most accessible, Will would not sell. He vowed that he would never sell to the loggers, but
did allow splash logging from property that adjoined his upriver. With splash logging several dams would be constructed along the river. When logs were ready to be moved, the dams
were closed. When the water level behind the dam furthest upstream was high enough, that
dam was dynamited. As the rushing water and logs approached the next dam, it, too, was
dynamited. As more dams were destroyed, the water level continued to rise, allowing more
logs to be carried. By the time the last dam was opened, there was enough water to carry the
logs to the mill in Townsend.
In 1918 Will had been disabled by a stroke and Colonel W.B. Townsend of the Little River
Lumber Company came to offer to buy the land Will had claimed on the Thunderhead
Prong. It is told that Will agreed to the sale, but asked that it not be cut. The lumber company
bought that 96 acre parcel for $1500 and it was not cut until shortly after Colonel Townsend’s
death in 1936. Will had had his land surveyed and in all claimed eight square miles or 5,120
acres of land.
Big Will was 80 years old when he died in 1919 and was carried across the footlog and
down the river to the present day Townsend “Y”. From there his body was carried by a
train, provided by Colonel Townsend, to be buried at Bethel Baptist Church in Townsend,
although it was said he wished to be buried in his valley. Four of his daughters by Moll
Stinnett, Dora, Sally, Millie, and Lillie, had cared for him during his final illness and it was to
them that he left his valley.
Nancy lived two years longer in their cabin, cared for by the four Stinnett sisters. When
she died she was buried beside Big Will at Bethel, leaving this valley for the first time since
she came here.
After Big Will’s death, the Little River Lumber Company completed their deal with the
heirs of the valley, which they had been unable to accomplish with Big Will. He loved his
valley and did not wish to see the land spoiled as it had been at Elkmont (towards Gatlinburg) and Cades Cove.
As one hikes the trails here at Tremont and the surrounding areas, it may be difficult to
imagine it as an area without trees. But if you had been here from about 1910 to 1936, that’s
what you would have seen: few, if any, trees. The Little River Lumber Company logged the
areas around the Middle Prong of the Little River (the river that flows through Tremont)
from 1926 to 1939. The Tremont road follows the route of the logging railroad that used to
haul logs from this valley to Townsend. Three miles upriver from the Institute was the logging town of Tremont, named because of the trees and the mountains. The town had a general store, hotel, post office, and a building which served as the school, movie house, and
church. People in the town lived in portable “carshacks” that could be picked up and moved
on railroad flatcars as the logging operations moved. During the time that the logging company was in operation, there were about 1,000 people living between here and the logging
town.
Logs were removed from the high country using a device called a skidder. There were
two types of skidders. Ground skidders were V-shaped troughs that were raised a few feet
off the ground. When logs were ready to be sent down to the tracks, they were put into
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the skidder. A rope or cable was tied to one end of the log(s), and the other end attached
to mules or oxen. These animals would then pull the logs from the mountains down to the
tracks. The logs were then loaded onto flatcars and taken to the mill in Townsend. Overhead
skidders consisted of a crane-like machine which moved on rails, and metal cables. After the
cables were attached to a large tree or stump as far as one mile away from the tracks, logs
could be “reeled” back to the skidder using pulleys and a large “J” hook.
In this part of the park many spurline sections of railroad branched out far into the mountains and hollows to provide access to the timber. In areas like these a specialized engine
known as a Shay engine was used to haul the logs back down into the valley. Unlike conventional engines, a Shay engine was able to withstand the steep grades and sharp turns that
were common in the mountains.
When Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established, the Little River Lumber
Company sold its holdings to the park. Although the Little River Lumber Company land
was the first land purchased for the national park, it was the last accepted for such use because of continued cutting. After a long legal battle and years of negotiation, the Middle
Prong and its tributaries were finally included in the boundaries of Great Smoky Mountains
National Park. Many relics remain to remind us that the logging company was here. If you
have a sharp eye while hiking some trails here at Tremont, you may see skidder cables,
pieces of railroad tracks, train parts, foundations of buildings, old railroad beds, or manways
(trails used by loggers to get from one place to another). This area has only had since about
1939 to recover, but if you look around, today’s forest is a testimony to the power of nature to
reclaim its own, if given the opportunity to do so. The park gave the forest that chance.
National Park Era
By 1938, all developments of Little River Lumber Company had been moved out of the
valley. The National Park Service, having purchased 77,000 acres from Little River Lumber
Company, destroyed all the buildings except for the area which had been given by Colonel
Townsend to be used as Camp Margaret Townsend by the Girl Scouts (now Tremont).
In 1933 and 1934, the government built a Civilian Conservation Corps Camp (CCC Camp)
about four miles above the location of the former Tremont logging community site, which
was named the Tremont CCC Camp, the second location to use the name TREMONT. This
camp was in operation for about eight years. The CCC boys located there built and maintained trails in this area of the park and helped establish and maintain picnic areas, campgrounds, and trails in other parts of the park. At the close of the camp, the government again
dismantled all buildings. The foundations, however, can still be seen.
A small primitive campground, built on the site of a former residence, was also given the
name TREMONT by the park.
In 1964, the government built the Job Corps Center at the location of the former Girl Scout
camp. It was named Tremont Job Corps, and became the fourth location to use the name
of TREMONT. It was in operation 4 ½ years. An average of about 112 young men were stationed at the center doing trail work, improving roads, trails, picnic areas, and campgrounds
at Tremont and throughout the park. They also received valuable training, including basic
education, shop work, and specific skills. Upon evaluation of the many Job Corps Centers in
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the United States, it was decided that the expenditure per corpsman was too high at Tremont. Since there was insufficient room for expansion, the facility closed in June 1969.
Representatives of Maryville College, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Blount
County Chamber of Commerce, and the public school systems of this area petitioned government authorities that the facilities of this center be used as a center for environmental education, to be administered by Maryville College. This was the first proposal for the use of any
of the 59 abandoned Job Corps Centers. This opened the possibility of using all the centers
for “socially useful” purposes. Tremont Environmental Education Center was opened with
almost a record number of students and teachers from Chattanooga, the 3rd week in October
1969. During the first year of operation, more than 4,000 students, teachers, and parents from
school systems from Chattanooga to Johnson City spent a week at the center. Weekend and
summer use of the center included college students, church groups, garden clubs, and experimental groups of special education children. The center was closed in September 1979 for
remodeling and Maryville College was unable to reopen the center. In May 1980 the Great
Smoky Mountains Natural History Association (now Great Smoky Mountains Association)
became the administrative agency of the center.
STORIES FROM WALKER VALLEY
Some of the characters during the “Walker Valley Living History “ lesson may tell the following stories in their presentations. Please wait until AFTER the field lesson to tell these to
the students.
The children of Loon Grant Moore and Margaret Shields
There were many tragedies in the valley through the years, especially in the rough pioneer days when travel was slow and difficult and doctors were impossible to get. Many babies died in infancy, and other children died quite young. Little Susie Moore was the daughter of Loon Grant Moore and Margaret Shields (his second wife). One cold January day, she
started across the footlog across Middle Prong to her Uncle Will’s. The river was full and the
footlog was icy. She fell in and drowned. (She was less than five years old.)
Loon and Margaret suffered another tragedy as their daughters Annie and Margaret were
walking down the trail together. They were shot by Annie’s husband, Henry Walker, Big
Will’s nephew. He was later declared insane and spent the rest of his days in a mental institution where he was a cook. Margaret was not killed, but Annie was. Some say they were
divorced before this happened.
One of the most touching stories which sheds light on the care of children in the valley
was told by Emma, youngest daughter of Loon and Margaret, who was born blind. She cried
and begged to go to school like the other children, but the teacher at Walker Valley had not
been trained to teach blind children. He told Loon and Big Will about the school for the blind
in Nashville, and arrangements were made for Emma to go. There, they were able to correct
her vision. She later returned to Maryville, where she got off the train and heard a woman
say, “I’m supposed to have a little girl on this train.” Recognizing her mother’s voice, she ran
to her saying, “I’m Emma. I’m your little girl.” She also told how Loon, her father, and her
Uncle Will had carried her on their shoulders through the woods; teaching her many things
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about the trees, flowers, and animals. She also described Nancy Caylor as the “best woman
God ever made. She was good to everybody. She took care of everybody.”
Old Berry Learns How to Jay
Two nephews of Big Will had been given permission to cut some logs off Lumber (Timber) Ridge. They called themselves the Fist and Skull Lumber Company. They used a mule
to start the logs down one of their “skids.” When the logs got a good start, the boys would
yell, “Jay!” The mule would step aside and let the logs continue down the “skid” to the river.
Mules can be the most stubborn creatures in the world, and this mule was no exception. He
decided one day that he would not work anymore. Nothing they could do would make him
go. They remembered that their Uncle Will had a big ox named Old Berry. He was named
that because Will said he was the color of a ripe blackberry. They went down to borrow Old
Berry to finish getting their logs down to the river. Big Will said, “You boys know that Old
Berry is a valuable animal. I was offered $100 for him recently and you also know he has
never worked in timber. If anything happens to him, you boys will owe me $100.” With that
admonition ringing in their ears, the boys took Old Berry up the ridge, hitched him to his
first load of logs, and started him down the skid. When they yelled, “Jay,” Old Berry did
not understand and kept going on down the skid. The boys followed, discussing what they
expected to find at the foot of the ridge and how their profits from the logs, already down,
would have to go to pay their Uncle Will. Imagine their surprise when they reached the bottom of the skid and saw Old Berry sitting astride the largest log, unharmed. Rejoicing, they
led Old Berry back to the top of the ridge to finish their job of bringing down the logs. Thereafter, each time Old Berry heard the boys yell, “Jay!” he stepped aside—he had learned his
lesson well.
Big Will the Hunter
It has been said that Big Will was a great hunter and such an expert marksman that he
was often excluded from shooting matches, unless he would use someone else’s gun. His
gun was six feet long and called “Sudden Death” or “Ole Death.” Big Will was very careful
and very proud of his gun and used it for many years. In fact, he said that he had killed more
than 100 bears with it. One of his favorite bear stories is about the time one of the biggest
bears he had ever seen eluded a group of hunters and escaped into a cave. The leader of the
group offered $25 to the hunter who would go into the cave after him and bring him out. Big
Will volunteered. He went into the cave with his gun loaded and ready to shoot, and moved
cautiously forward until he felt the hot, moist air of the bear’s breath. Will fired in that direction and killed the bear with one shot. He refused the $25, for the bearskin itself was worth
more than that.
The Feud and Vannie Cook
The people of Walker Valley were hunters and trappers who made part of their living from trading pelts of wild animals. As good hunters, they had excellent hunting dogs.
Around 1910, a group of settlers over the ridge in the “Spicewoods,” near the West Prong,
brought in some sheep to raise. As could be expected, the hunting dogs got into the sheep
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and killed several. Immediately, the dogs were shot. In seeking reprisal for the loss of their
dogs, someone set fire to the ridge between West Prong and Walker Valley. Sometimes the
wind changes suddenly on these ridges, and that is probably what happened that beautiful April day in 1910. All the men and boys of the valley were on the ridge fighting the fire,
which seemed out of control and was threatening the valley.
Among the fire fighters was a man named Sam Cook, a great woodsman, who had a
creek named for him (Sams Creek, up Middle Prong) and also a gap on the Appalachian Trail
(Sams Gap, between Newfound Gap and Fontana Dam). His son, Dock, and his little daughters, Vannie and Eva, were helping their father. Dock was helping establish a fire line, while
Vannie and Eva were watching the fire line to see that the fire did not jump over it. Dock saw
that the top of the tree under which the girls were sitting was on fire and about to fall. He
yelled to his sisters, who went in opposite directions. The top of the tree fell on little Vannie,
mortally wounding her. The story is told that when they brought her to a nearby cabin, a
white dove appeared and stayed until Vannie died, when it disappeared to be seen no more.
They said that the dove had come to “guide her home.”
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