Cable Mill
by Geraldine DeBoer
Title
Cable Mill
Artist
Geraldine DeBoer
Medium
Photograph - Print
Description
This overshoot mill was built in 1868 by John P. Cable.
There were several smaller family tub mills through out Cades Cove. ---Cable Mill is one of the most popular stops on the Cades Cove tour. Along with all of its historic structures, it is also home to a visitor center and public restrooms. The visitor center is open from mid-April until the end of October each year. All the buildings in the Cable Mill area (with the exception of the actual mill itself) were actually moved from their original locations and relocated here.
John P. Cable Mill
It was not uncommon for entire villages and towns to be built around grist mills in the 1800s. Because of their ability to grind grains into flower or meal at a faster rate than famers could do it themselves, grist mills were vital to local economies. As a result, the town mill often became a social gathering place as well, fostering friendships, business relationships, and sometimes even young courtships.
John P. Cable built his grist mill in Cades Cover in the early 1870s. He was a descendent of Peter Cable, a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer who had arrived in the area in the 1820s and designed an elaborate system to drain the swampy lands located in the western part of the cove.
John Cable was the only person in Cades Cove to use an overshot water wheel, a gravity wheel which harnesses the force of gravity acting vertically on the water as it travels from the top to the bottom of the wheel. Cable Mill's power was supplied by Mill Creek, although a connecting channel was dug to Forge Creek so the mill could tap both streams when water levels were low.
Cable Mill took double advantage of its waterwheel by using it to power saw mills as well. This revolutionized the way homes were built in the cove, as people switched from using logs to lumber and frame construction. The Gregg Cable house still stands as an example of a frame built house in Cades Cove.
Uploaded
November 5th, 2016
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Viewed 1,169 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/20/2024 at 3:56 AM
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Comments (34)
Jenny Revitz Soper
CONGRATULATIONS! Your fabulous piece has been FEATURED on the homepage of the FAA Artist Group No Place Like Home, 3/3/2017! Way to go! Please post it in the Group's Features discussion thread for posterity and/or any other thread that fits!
Connor Beekman
Congratulations, Geraldine! Your amazing photo is now featured in the National Parks group! You are invited to post this image in the Featured Images discussion so that it has a permanent place to be seen.
Jack Zulli
So much enjoy the methods used here to give a pleasing enhancement to this delightful composition, joy to view;) v/f
Lenore Senior
What a beautiful shot! I love the composition, too, which accents the fencing design! v/f/pin!!
Geraldine DeBoer replied:
Thank You Lenore,, This is part of Cades Cove in the Smokey Mountains.. Love this place so much.