The Backroads Traveler: Cumberland Gap, Tennessee

Historic Houses in the village of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.

On October 29th, I drove from Knoxville to the Cumberland Gap area in northeast Tennessee to see what I could see and make a few photographs.

The Cumberland mountains, ranging up to more than 4000 feet in height, form a long wall along the border where Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia meet, creating a formidable barrier for pioneers seeking to come into Tennessee. In 1750 a deep cleft in the wall with a base only300 feet above the valley floor was discovered -- the Cumberland Gap. 

Daniel Boone cut the Wilderness Trail through the Gap in 1775 and hordes of settlers soon followed. A post office was established in 1803 in the little settlement just below the Gap.

Today, the village of Cumberland Gap has a population of about 350, and like its earlier self, mostly depends on visitors and those passing through for its living.

The Cumberland Gap Post Office.

 

"The Olde Church" is no longer a church, but an events facility.

The Olde Mill Inn Bed and Breakfast. Cumberland Gap's oldest structure.

Originally built as a boarding house in 1890 by J.B. Cockrill, the Olde Mill Inn had a checkered existence before being opened as a bed and breakfast in 2002. The log part of the inn came from a cabin built in the 1700s in nearby Harrogate and was added to the original part of the inn in 1970.

The Cumberland Gap Tunnel on U.S. Highway 25E.

 Until 1996, U.S. Highway 25E ran through Cumberland Gap and through the village. It was considered a very dangerous road and was replaced with a four-lane tunnel more than a mile long that runs under the mountain a short distance from the Gap. It's worth the trip just to drive through the tunnel to Middlesboro, Kentucky and back.

About the tools: All photographs were made with Fuji X-T3 and X-T20 digital cameras and the Fujinon XF16-80 (24-120 equivalent) lens.

Visit my online gallery at https://davejenkins.pixels.com/  

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Photography and text copyright 2024 David B.Jenkins.

I post Monday, Wednesday, and Friday unless life gets in the way.

Soli Gloria Deo -- For the glory of God alone.

Tags:   photography   digital photography   travel photography    Fuji X-T3 camera     Fuji X-T20 camera     Fujinon XF16-80 lens    Cumberland Mountains    Cumberland Gap     Tennessee history     U.S. 25E tunnel