Ogle Place


Our first stop was Harrah's Cherokee Casino in North Carolina for lunch.	Motorcycle Parking at the Cherokee Casino, NC.	Luann's trike fits nicely along side Randy & Cindy's GL1500 Gold Wing.

Randy showed his talents and backed his bike & trailer into the tight fit of the Cherokee Casino motorcycle parking.	Welcome to the Noah "Bud" Ogle Farm. Open your mind's eye to the daily life of the Ogle Family.	Re-tune your ears to the sound ofcowbells, and your nostrils to the fragrance of hay and apple blossoms that drifted across the meadows.

(L - R) Dennis & Delois, Randy & Cindy, Vernon & Luann.	The Ogle family was one of the first to settle in the backwoods community of White Oak Flats (now Gatlinburg).	Dennis describes life for Noah Ogle and his wife Cindy who started out on this farm of 400 acres in 1879.

Vernon leads our SATG Touring Group down the old lane to the tub-mill and sites of the lower barn and weaner cabin.	Preparing to cross a walkway log bridge across a stream. The water level is lower than normal due to the current drought conditions in the Southeast.	How do you tell the temperature without a thermometer? Look at the rhododendron leaves, right there to your right.

Stop # 7. Leaving the nest. As Noah's sons married they had to move out of the home to the "honeymoon" or "weaner" cabin for one year.	Dennis points to a large pile of stones in front of what remains of the "honeymoon" or "weaner" cabin where sons were allowed to live until they established a place of their own.	This is what remains of the "honeymoon" or "weaner" cabin. This practice continues today, in modified form. How about the mobile home in Ma and Pa's side yard.

Vernon continues leading the SATG Touring Group down the path leading to the "tub" mill.	Luann and Cindy making an effort to keep up with the man, Vernon, carrying the big stick.	Delois is not far behind.

Farms located on streams often had a small mill. This type is called a "tub" mill, so called because the horizontal water wheel was originally enclosed in a wooden tub-like casing.	Vernon investigates the inside of the tub-mill. Most families preferred to own their own mill if possible, to avoid paying a toll to someone else for grinding their corn into meal.	Many of Noah's neighbors brought their corn here. The toll was usually one gallon per bushel of corn ground. Widows and other unfortunates were not expected to pay.

Randy and Vernon look over the water flume leading to the mill.	A close up look at the water flume leading down to the tub mill. Water still trickles down the water flume. With the drought conditions in the southeast, water is at a low level.	The creek is at the left. Water flow again, is at a low level.

The Shutterbug and The Lady with the Big Stick.	Some of the water flow can be seen in the water flume.	Cindy, are you in the Poison Ivy bed?

You can only imagine the activity and life at the "Tub-Mill" in 1879.	Delois and Dennis with the Tub-Mill in the background.D	Cindy leads the way!

"Tourist"	Vernon leads us to the end of the rope. Here, man finally reached the limits of land use. This pile of boulders, tossed here by the hand of nature, was good for absolutely nothing.	NoahNoah left the boulders here for you to enjoy,

as you sit on the bench and rest in the shade.	Randy, Cindy and Dennis with one of the big boulders in the background.	"Moving On"

A tree growing out of a rock.	A once mighty tree succumbs to the elements of time.	Randy and Cindy take a breather. Especially, Randy!

Vernon crossing the last log walkway bridge over a creek bed enroute to the barn.	Hold the handrail, Luann, and it's not too scary!	Cindy does her best balancing act.

Arriving at the barn not far from the log walkway bridge.	Noah Ogle's barn on the left with the cabin in the background.	The heart of the farm. This is Noah's barn. It was essential to his farm operation and reportedly brought him a little extra income.

There the work animals and tools stood by for immediate use, and feed for livestock lay here in the loft.	A lot of traffic passed along the road, and travelers would sometimes stop to feed and water their animals. Here Cindy poses with her water!	Cindy even coaxed Randy into the animal pin with her. They never closed the door behind them.

Dennis investigates the feed trough. Where's the Food!	Could this "Cindy" have been Noah's wife, named "Cindy," in a previous life? That would have made her Cindy Ogle!	Could Randy have been Noah, in a previous life, and married Cindy then, and then reincarnated into modern day Gold Wing Road Riders? <grin>
	"We can only imagine what Noah "Bud" Ogle's family life was like in the 1800's, when times were tough and travel was even more time consuming." "When travel took days and even weeks, if not months, to go from point "A" to point "B" and today we can tour the country on 2 - 3 wheels in a matter of hours." Dennis J. Ogle October 2007
That Was Then!		This Is Now!