Mountain Farm Museum and Mingus Mill

Multiple wooden structures in the background of a fenced-in garden full of growing greens.
A garden at the Mountain Farm Museum near the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

Warren Bielenberg

 

Area Overview

The Oconaluftee area offers both a visitor center and the Mountain Farm Museum, a collection of historic log buildings gathered from throughout the Smokies and preserved on a single site. Buildings include a house, barn, applehouse, springhouse, and smokehouse.

At the visitor center, rangers can answer your questions about the park and you can explore a bookstore with a broad selection of guides, maps, and other products.

Mountain Farm Museum

The Mountain Farm Museum is a unique collection of farm buildings assembled from locations throughout the park. Visitors can explore a log farmhouse, barn, apple house, springhouse, and a working blacksmith shop to get a sense of how families may have lived 100 years ago. Most of the structures were built in the late 19th century and were moved here in the 1950s. The Davis House offers a rare chance to view a log house built from chestnut wood before the chestnut blight decimated the American Chestnut in our forests during the 1930s and early 1940s. The museum is adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center.

The site also demonstrates historic gardening and agricultural practices, including livestock. An inexpensive, self-guiding tour booklet is available.

Mingus Mill

Half a mile north of the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is Mingus Mill. Built in 1886, this historic gristmill uses a water-powered turbine instead of a water wheel to power all of the machinery in the building. Located at its original site, Mingus Mill stands as a tribute to the test of time. Mingus Mill is temporarily closed for preservation and rehabilitation work.

Highlights:

  • Water flows down a millrace to the mill.
  • A working cast iron turbine.
  • A miller demonstrates the process of grinding corn into cornmeal.
  • Cornmeal and other mill-related items are available for purchase at the mill.

Nearby Trails

  1. The Oconaluftee River Trail follows its namesake stream for 1.5 miles to Cherokee, North Carolina. It begins near the entrance to the museum and is stroller-accessible.
  2. Mingus Creek Trail climbs past old farms to the Smokies high country.
 

Recommended Reading

 
Books, maps and guides to the national park are available online from the park's nonprofit partner, the Great Smoky Mountains Association.

Mountain Farm Museum Self-Guiding Tour

This tour booklet describes the history and buildings of the Mountain Farm Museum. It is keyed to numbered posts and landmarks you'll see at the farm, and features historical photographs and illustrations that show what life was like a century ago.

 

Visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park's official online store for books, maps, and guides to the park. Operated by the nonprofit Smokies Life, proceeds generated by purchases at the store are donated to educational, scientific, and historical projects in the park.

Last updated: February 17, 2024

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

107 Park Headquarters Road
Gatlinburg, TN 37738

Phone:

(865)436-1200

Contact Us