Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015 - 40

IF YOU GO

bring the war up, because there
were families that lost members on
Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum:
both sides," says John Ravnum, a
423-869-6235, lmunut.edu/museum
local re-enactor of the War Between
Cumberland Gap General Store:
the States.
423-869-2282, cumberland gap.com
Laced with Civil War history,
the Abraham Lincoln Library and
Cumberland Gap National Historical
Museum faces U.S. Highway 25E.
Park: 606-248-2817, nps.gov/cuga
This "Dixie Highway" connects
Gap Creek Coffeehouse: 423-801-3100.
I-81 near White Pine, Tennessee, to
I-75 near Corbin, Kentucky. At the
Pine Mountain State Resort Park:
heart of that journey, Tennessee
800-325-1712, parks.ky.gov/
meets Kentucky at a 4,600-footlong tunnel through Cumberland
Mountain, immediately west of the
fabled Cumberland Gap.
For one night, I stay south of the tunnel at
Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. This quaint little town
is where Ravnum and his wife, Geri, sell figurines and
commemorative cups at their Cumberland Gap
General Store.
I check in at the Cumberland Gap Inn. Then I
walk - about a block - for a chicken Caesar salad at
the Gap Creek Coffeehouse, an eatery operated by
Wolfenbarger. I also try the café's Cuban Melt, a creation of sandwich maker A.J. Fultz - with ham, turkey, dill pickles and Swiss cheese, topped with a special
(and secret) sauce on sourdough bread.
In cold months, the Gap Creek Coffeehouse
makes a great spot to caress a cappuccino. Come
spring, coffee consumers clamor for the creek, where
Gap Creek spills forth from Gap Cave in Virginia and
takes a rocky tumble before quietly meandering past
the coffeehouse lawn.
"One of the big things that attracts people is the
squeak of that front door," Wolfenbarger says. "They
come in and say it reminds them of going in their
grandparents' house."
This eatery, built in the 1920s, was previously a
private residence. It was also once a tattoo parlor.
Now, Wolfenbarger says, the restaurant building
might even be haunted: This ex-coach cited strange
happenings, like blenders coming on by themselves.
"It's not a scary feeling - to me," Wolfenbarger says.
"It's just like someone else is here with you."

Saturday: Daniel Boone and the
Hensley Settlement
WORTH A CLICK
Head over to
BlueRidgeCountry.
com/Hensley for a
video tour of the
Hensley Settlement!

For breakfast, I return to the Gap Creek Coffeehouse
for a vegetable omelet. Then I take that tunnel to
Middlesboro, Kentucky and immediately exit to find
the visitor center at the Cumberland Gap National
Historical Park. Instantly, I'm re-educated on the
importance of Daniel Boone.
"The Cumberland Gap and Daniel Boone is

40 | BlueRidgeCountry.com

Top: Joe Wolfenbarger operates the Gap Creek
Coffeehouse.
Above: Historic buildings and intriguing architecture
line the lanes of Cumberland Gap, Tennessee.

something we all learn in our history books. It is not
only an important story," says Wiley. "It's physically
just an important landmark."
That landmark has long been returned to its natural state. The Cumberland Gap Tunnel opened in
1996 and replaced the old U.S. 25E that ran through
the gap. Now, a trail follows through the gap. "And
you can't tell there was ever a highway there at all,"
Wiley says.
The national park includes more than 24,000
acres and about 85 miles of trails. Various treks -
but no public roads - lead to Kentucky's ultraisolated Hensley Settlement. Certainly in March
and even in April, snow remains part of the settlement scenery, where it's perched at an ear-popping
3,000-foot elevation.
"It's a little plateau," says Jarrod Dotson, a park
guide. "Originally, there were 500 acres cleared
off. "
Today the park service maintains only a fraction
of that. No one lives at the settlement today. But,
it was once home to about 100 people, including
the late Sherman Hensley, who settled on the
mountain in 1903 and lived there until 1951.
A delightful number of structures stand amid a
scenic zigzag of wooden fences. The rebuilt structures are on sites of original buildings; the schoolhouse stands near Hensley's grave.
"It's a very good possibility that you won't see

http://www.lmunet.edu/museum/ http://www.cumberlandgap.com http://www.nps.gov/cuga http://parks.ky.gov/ http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com/Hensley http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com/Hensley http://www.BlueRidgeCountry.com

Blue Ridge Country - March/April 2015

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