She Wore Green Velvet

By Beth Yarbrough

Having told this story for many years using a gorgeous October photo from another photographer, I looked forward to meeting the little cabin in the Tennessee hills for myself. While I did not expect autumn leaves on the August day of my visit, neither did I expect that the sun would break through low clouds just as I arrived, draping everything in Mother Nature’s finest rendition of green velvet and brocade.

Here is the sweet love story for those of you who have never heard it.

Henry Whitehead built this cabin in the year 1898 for his new bride, Matilda Shields Gregory, and her young son - both of whom had been deserted by Matilda's first husband.

She had been living in a makeshift cabin of poor construction that had been hastily put together by her brothers - so when Henry set out to build a new home for them all, he was determined to build it right. He used square-sawed logs - finely finished inside and out.

The logs were so smoothly fitted together that they needed no insulation - forming walls that were fully four-inches thick. Not only that, but he used bricks for the chimney and fireplace - instead of the normal stone (or rubble, which had been the case in poor Matilda's former home).

The cabin still stands today as you see it here as part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Cades Cove, Tennessee. Not only is the Whitehead Cabin the only square-log home in Cades Cove, but it's also the only one left in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Good for you, Henry Whitehead. Good for you.

Photo of Whitehead Cabin (at long last) by Beth Yarbrough.