After my initial detour this morning, I returned to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center, which is next to the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway, to tour the Mountain Farm Museum exhibit. I took some pics at the museum exhibit yesterday, but had my camera settings all screwed up. Somehow, the aperture was turned all the way down which made the photos almost completely white, (overexposed), when a setting other than "Auto" was used. Today's photos turned out much better once I corrected the error.

Oconaluftee is one of four visitor's centers located within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Originally, this was a Ranger Station built in 1940. A new "temporary" visitor's center built in 1947 was used until 2011 when the current "permanent" facility was completed.

The name "Oconaluftee" refers to the river valley in which the center is located, and also to the river that flows through it.

The word "Oconaluftee" is a reference to a Cherokee village name, Egwanulti, which means "by the river."

I passed by the remnants of a giant tree sitting next to the museum grounds which can be seen in the photos above and below. I thought it was pretty cool.

Part of me thinks it would be a great idea to make a giant clock out of the piece shown above. I may have to reinforce my living room wall in order to hang it up, though. And I don't see myself flipping it over to replace the batteries without doing some serious damage to my back.

The walking trail from the Visitor Center to the Mountain Farm Museum follows the Oconaluftee River past this odd-shaped tree.

The Mountain Farm Museum is a collection of structures assembled together to give visitors an idea of what life was like on a mountain farm in the 19th century. The many buildings that make up the museum exhibit were moved to this location from various places within the park. The family seen on the marker is that of John E. Davis who settled in Deep Creek, North Carolina in 1885.

Davis and his two oldest sons built a cabin that was completed around 1900. The cabin was moved to its present location at the Visitor Center in the 1950s.

The John E. Davis family cabin, originally located in nearby Bryson City, North Carolina, was moved to its current location in the 1950s.

The cabin is constructed out of chestnut logs that are "matched." Davis split the logs down the middle and placed the halves in matching positions on opposite walls.

The logs are joined together by dove-tail joints. Notice how the upper surface of each log is sloped to allow water to run off. Also notice how Davis used wood boards to seal the gaps in between the logs. Normally, this would have been done using a clay of some kind.

The inside of the cabin was closed to entry, but could be seen from the doors.

The photos above show the main living area of the cabin.

The photos above and below show the small but functional kitchen area of the Davis cabin.

The kitchen area of the Davis cabin.

The many buildings that make up the outdoor museum have all been placed near the Davis Cabin specifically for that purpose. This is not necessarily how it would have been done back in the day, though. Homesteads in this era had to be completely self-sufficient. Settlers had to grow their own food, make their own stuff, and protect the food and stuff from what was lurking in the wilderness around them. Locations were prioritized. The most level land would have been reserved for the many gardens needed for survival. Food and meat storage buildings were usually placed near the cabin for convenience and security. Other outbuildings and structures, like the Woodshed and Ash Hopper shown in the photos above and below, were usually placed away from the farming areas.

Ashes were collected from the stoves and fireplaces and used to produce lye for making soap.

Meat was a prized possession and kept in a Meathouse that sat close to the cabin. This building shown in the photos above and below originally came from the Cataloochee Valley area of the park.

Pork was the most common item stored therein. In the days before refrigeration, salting and smoking were the primary preservation methods.

The Baxter/Jenkins Chicken house was built sometime in the late 19th century and came from the base of Maddron Bald near Crosby, Tennessee.

Chickens provided eggs and meat for food, and feathers for things like pillows and mattresses.

Apples were used by mountain farmers for many purposes, and were considered a staple crop.

Apples were eaten raw or used to make things like apple butter, apple cider, and apple sauce.

The museum is functional in the sense that crops such as apples, vegetables, and corn are currently grown on the grounds for demonstration purposes. The apple trees seen in the photos above and below grow near the cabin.

Apparently, the local elk population is quite fond of the museum's apples, perhaps a little too fond. The elk tend to ignore the bold red lettering in the written warning which has lead to the use of other methods in an attempt to keep them at bay.

Apples were stored in the Apple House.

The Messer Applehouse was built by Will Messer and originally sat in the Cataloochee Valley area of the park. Remnants of the building's original foundation still stand in that location

Sorghum Cane was used to produce Sorghum Molasses and syrups.

The process involved using a mill to extract the juice from the cane which was then boiled in a sorghum furnace shown in the photos above and below.

The result was a thick, dark molasses that was used in various recipes.

In the days before indoor plumbing, farms were equipped with an Outhouse similar to the one seen in the photo above.

A typical 19th century farm fence.

Settlers employed as many methods as necessary to protect their crops. In this case, the fence surrounds the museum's corn field. This fence is functional and protects the Hickory King corn grown by the museum as part of its educational activities and demonstrations.

Corn grown on the farm was stored in the Corn Crib. The two corn cribs on the property were built around 1900 and came from the Deep Creek area near Bryson City, North Carolina.

The corn grown was typically made into cornmeal for use in cooking, and as feed for the family's livestock.

The dove-tail joints construction of the corn crib mimics that of the Davis Cabin.

The second of two corn cribs also serves as a tool shed.

Any tools or equipment needed for the farm were kept within.

The roof of a corn crib was often raised to allow for the entire stalk to be stored. Once dried out, it could then be taken to a mill and processed.

I passed by an old school hay rake on my way to the barn.

Horses would pull the rake through the field. The long teeth seen in the photo above gathered or "raked" the cut hay and would "dump" it into piles for easier gathering.

The Enloe Barn is the only building in the museum originally located on the property. The barn was built around 1880 by Joseph Enloe, grandson of Abraham Enloe, an early settler of the Oconoluftee Valley.

The two story barn housed grain and hay on the upper level and livestock on the lower level.

The Enloe Barn was originally located on the museum property, and was moved about 200 yards to its present location.

The lower stalls of the barn housed livestock.

The roof of the Enloe Barn is made of approximately 16,000 hand-split wood shingles.