Elijah Oliver Place
Deep in the Smokies nestled in Cades Cove, the Elijah Oliver cabin, smokehouse, corn crib, springhouse and barn provided a cozy environment for this branch of the Oliver family. Elijah was the son of John and Luraney and was born in the original Cades Cove cabin in 1824. It was there Elijah grew into a young man and married. He eventually brought his bride to the site where they built the Smokies cabin that bears his name.
Elijah Oliver lived in a time when the inhabitants of Cades Cove were keenly aware of their dependence upon God, family and neighbors. He lived in a time when strangers were taken in and given a meal and shelter. Cades Cove hospitality was so well known that fishermen came to the cove knowing that the mountaineers would give them lodging at no charge. So common was this practice that many Cades Cove residents made a special room built to house the strangers who need shelter. Elijah Oliver must have been one of those men of charity as he had a “strangers room” built on his front porch. For those of us living in the twenty-first century that kind of take care of your fellow man attitude is extremely rare. We can learn much from the example of the simple people of yesteryear.
Around 1900 some of the Cades Cove residents began to charge a modest rate for the room and board. The rest is history! Now there are over 8,000 cabins and chalets surrounding The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. These shelter strangers who come to these mountains not only to fish, but to hike, bike, golf, kayak, horseback ride, auto tour or vacation.
