POTR #53 Quart In A Pint Bag

PEACE ON THE ROAD
A Quart In A Pint Bag
September 7, 2009

It is funny to me how some time seems to pass slowly, or perhaps a day feels like it is a day long, and then again it may feel like events of a few day ago must have been weeks ago because so much has happened between. This last week or so could not have happened in the length of time that has passed since the week started. I have seen so much and been in so many places in the last week that at least a month must have passed. Well maybe it just seems that way. There is an expression that seems to fit this situation, "Putting a quart in a pint bag."

I have been to Athens Greece. At least I have gotten some bit of the feeling of being there. In Nashville there is a full size replica of the original Parthenon that was built in 1897 as a part of the Tennessee Centennial Exposition. At that time it was built of plaster, wood and brick to be the centerpiece of the 1897 fair. Between 1920 and 1925 the Parthenon was rebuilt with concrete. The building is 228 by 101 feet. The sixty five columns that support the roof are slightly over 6 foot in diameter and 34 foot tall. All the columns are tilted inwards. If the lines of the column were projected upwards the lines would contact each other more than five miles above the surface of the earth. There are carvings that are carved into the frieze on all four sides of the Parthenon. Inside on the main floor is a museum with many paintings. On the floor above is an artists depiction of a gold and ivory statue of a goddess that was in the original temple. It was created in 1990 and stands 42 foot tall. The description of the statue comes from the writings of a 2nd century traveler, Pausanias. It is believed that the original Parthenon was a grand setting for the statue and a treasury storehouse.


THE NASHVILLE PARTHENON AT NIGHT

When we first visited the Parthenon during the day it was very impressive and we wanted to see it at night. This is the first place that I have really had an opportunity to do night photography of this type with the digital camera. We were back that evening after full darkness, I set up the tripod and took pictures. The fact is that I was more impressed by the night pictures than the ones taken in the day.

The Hermitage in Nashville was the home of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States. It was built at a time that Tennessee was deep within the wild frontier. When Jackson was 13 years old he enlisted in the American Revolutionary War as a courier. He was captured by the British and held as a POW. When he refused to polish the boots of a British officer he was struck with a saber and scarred on his face and hand. His entire family died of war inflicted causes for which he blamed the British. These two combined to cause an intense hatred of the British. He was hero in the war of 1812 and in the Indian wars. At about 33 he bought the land where he was to build the mansion he called the Hermitage. The first house on the 420 acre property in 1804 was a two story log blockhouse which had been built to withstand Indian attacks. At that time Jackson owned nine slaves. By 1821 when Jackson moved into the original Hermitage mansion, which had been built by skilled slave labor, he had expanded the property to 1,000 acres and 44 slaves and later to 150. When he moved into the first Hermitage Mansion it was considered improper to house slaves in a two story house so the original house was torn apart to create two single story houses for slaves. Today those dwellings are part of the walking tour which gives some idea of the life of the slaves in the 1820's. The slaves dug holes beneath the floors of their quarters to have a place to hide a few personal items of their own. The mansion was surrounded by orchards, cotton fields, corn fields and pastures. The building to the right in the picture below is the separate kitchen which was built after a fire severely damaged the main house. Farm buildings, a spring house and crop fields are all part of the tour.


THE BACK SIDE OF ANDREW JACKSONS HOME THAT HE CALLED THE HERMITAGE

Smoky Mountain National Park, which is the most visited National Park in the United States, was our next destination and we found it to be is a very special place. With all the roads that go through the park and all the original buildings that have been preserved it would take a lot of visits to see enough to say that a person had done justice to its exploration. And then I think also that it would require visits in all four seasons. The history of this area for the settlers began with Andrew Jackson. In 1830 he signed the Indian Removal Act which eventually resulted in the forced removal of all Indian Tribes east of the Mississippi to Oklahoma. With the removal of the Indians, settlers moved in to establish farms, mines and the major industry of logging. In 1926 a park was authorized which over time was to force the residents to cease operation of farms, mines, and logging operations. Cades Cove was the main town in the area that is now Smoky Mountain National Park. At one time it numbered over a hundred families. The people raised cattle, hogs, sheep, chickens, planted corn, wheat and cotton and other crops. Clothes were made from cotton and wool. The corn fed hogs, was milled into meal for bread and in some cases moonshine whiskey. A large family might butcher and cure a dozen hogs a year in addition to hunting deer and bear. Until about 1870 there were no sawmills in the area so homes, barns and other buildings were made from logs. Many of the barns were built with cantilevered overhangs that provided shelter for the animals during the winter months. The drive through allowed a load of hay to put into the lofts of the barn easily by a man on the wagon and another in the loft. The passage also protected farm implements from the weather. This valley was divided by the Civil War. There were supporters of both sides that lived there. It divided the people and it split the churches. Some churches were also split by a pro or anti missionary controversy. In the fall when the crops were harvested raiders of both the Union and the Confederates stole food and horses from any residents of the area. After the first raids a boy with a horn was stationed at the entrance to the valley to warn all the people whenever any raiders approached. This allowed the people to hide their animals and food which likely avoided the starvation of many of the people.



THE 1880 DOUBLE CANTILEVER BARN OF THE TIPTON PLACE

Knowledge is one of the things that I gain when I am going to different places in the country. A lot of the knowledge is expected, like some history of an area, or information about the people. Other times there is knowledge that has been in front of my eyes numerous times and I could not see it because it was not presented in a way to attract my attention. A case in point is a tub mill, which is a type of grist mill. I have seen grist mills in many states, particularly in the Eastern US and Texas. Most of the mills I have seen have been powered by water wheels. The usual water wheel is from ten to twenty five foot in diameter with water from a flume that runs over the top with the weight of the water causing the wheel to turn. Those are overshot wheels. With an undershot wheel the water runs beneath the wheel. Either type of wheel has a horizontal drive shaft which is converted with a gear to a vertically driven shaft which turns the grist stones and may drive other equipment. In a tub mill the three to four foot water wheel is connected directly to the vertical shaft which turns the grist stones. Water impinges on the wheel and turns it. The faster the stream waters flow the faster the wheel turns. In the POTR titled “Out Of Texas” is a picture showing a tub mill in operation at the San Jose Mission in San Antonio. At the time I took that picture I had not heard of a tub mill. The advantage of the rub mill is that it is fairly simple to build and the maintenance is low. In the area of Smoky Mountain National Park there were a dozen or more of these tub mills which could grind from one to four bushels of flour a day. The milling was done for a portion of the finished product, usually from eight to twelve percent.


A TUB MILL WATER WHEEL IN THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK

From here in the Smoky Mountains we will be heading south and west towards the Mississippi River. We are planning to spend some time in Vicksburg and hopefully see some interesting things there.

Till Later This Is Doug Of
Peace On The Road