Churches at Cades Cove

Driving through Cades Cove is a step back in time, and the old churches are part of that. Visitors today can walk though the churches and be reminded of an earlier era, when the church was often the heart of a community.

The Methodist church was organized in the 1820's by circuit riders, like George Eakin. It was included in the list of churches of the Holston Conference's Little River Circuit in 1830. The original church was log with a dirt floor and fire pit for heat. In 1902, John McCampbell built the clapboard church which now stands on the property in 115 days for a cost of $115. He also served as its pastor.

John and Lucretia Oliver introduced the Baptist denomination to Cades Cove in 1825. However, in 1830, there was a split throughout eastern Tennessee. The split came about over the issues of mission work, temperance organizations, and Sunday School. The Primitive Baptist remained the dominant church in Cades Cove for several years after the split.

The other church coming out of the split was the Missionary Baptist. At first they met in people's homes. They were finally able to erect a building on Hyatt Hill in 1894. The congregation outgrew this building, and a new one was built in 1915, which is the one you can see today.

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