Great Smoky Mountain National Park, one of the most visited parks in America, preserves a half million acres of scenic beauty, 90 percent of the east's old growth forest, and the park's ever-popular attractions, its abundant wildlife. Cades Cove is tucked into the northwest corner of the park and was home for 700 self-sufficient residents in the mid 1800s. The area once know as Kate's Cove, named for a Cherokee chief's wife, was a premier Native American hunting ground. The large park area was added to the National Park's system in 1934, preserving many of the settler's log buildings. The Cades Cove scenic loop circles the park for eleven miles, introducing visitors to the old Tennessee community, sturdy log homes, a few hand built churches and a number of barns. Pictured here is the unadorned Cades Cove Methodist Church, built in 1902. Common church design featured a double door, one side for the ladies and the other for the gentlemen. In this close-knit community, the congregation sat where they pleased. The church builder/pastor, John D. McCampbell, was simply following readily available church plans.