For Sale: Piece of history
Chattanooga Time Free Press
Tuesday, December 18, 2006
By Ian Berry,
Staff Writer
http://www.tfponline.com/absolutenm/templates/content.aspx?articleid=8586&zoneid=83
For sale: 400 acres, with a modern log home, four-bedroom lodge, caretaker's house and storage shop.
At $2.75 million, the pricetag for the property south of Crossville may seem steep. But it's a "must have" for some of the state's prominent conservationists and archaeologists.
The property includes the spot where the Sequatchie Valley forms and the Sequatchie River springs from a cave to begin its gentle, 65-mile trek southwest.
It's also home to the grave of Cumberland County's first sheriff, and to a majestic cave where, deep inside, drawings indicate American Indian activity dating back at least 1,000 years.
The property's presence on the open market is prompting interest from the chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and causing anxiety for many conservationists, who say it's probably the most significant land now up for grabs in Tennessee.
"It's a property we just have to have," said Mack Prichard, Tennessee's state naturalist.
The Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation, which helped arrange the donation of 300 acres of land just north of the property earlier this month, also passed a board resolution expressing its commitment to do whatever possible to ensure the land's preservation.
But Foundation Executive Director Kathleen Williams said its means are limited. She and others are hoping to find a conservation-minded buyer who will ensure the land's protection, or to convince the state to incorporate it into nearby Cumberland Mountain State Park.
With plenty of scenic property up and down the Cumberland Plateau, this land is far from the only treasure up for grabs, she said, but it may be the most significant.
"I'm sure I'll continue to see them fall," Ms. Williams said. "But this is one I hope we can protect."
Mark McWhorter, whose family had put the land up for sale before his father's death about a month ago, said he had "mixed feelings" about selling. The property is being marketed by McWhorter Realty and Management Co. as a "Spectacular Tennessee Mountain Retreat." He and his family have owned the property for 10 years, he said, and usually at least one member of his family was enjoying it at any given time.
"It's a lot to take care of," Mr. McWhorter said. "We live in Knoxville. For our family's situation, it was just time to sell."
A BRIEF TOUR
The property is just off U.S. 127 between Pikeville and Crossville. From the front of the main cabin, the first babbling sounds of the Sequatchie River can be heard. The headwaters for the river emerge from a spring nearby.
Conservationists said the spot is where the valley still is expanding, slowly, into the plateau. Adjoining the property is Grassy Cove, the largest sinkhole in the nation, according to University of Tennessee officials.
On a hillside above the cabin is the grave of Cumberland County's first sheriff, Cravin Sherrill. The gravestone shows he was born June 9, 1801, but the date of his death is illegible.
Several hundred feet away is the mouth of Devil Step Hollow Cave, which Mr. Prichard calls "a cathedral in the earth." The entrance to the limestone cavern is about 100 feet high.
"You can kind of imagine why the Indians would think it's something special," Mr. McWhorter said.
Deep inside the limestone cavern, which environmentalists said is part of a much larger network of caves, are drawings that date to the Mississippian period, around 1000 A.D. A photo of one of the drawings is included in an advertisement for the property.
Russell Townsend, the historic preservation officer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, said that in general there is little evidence of American Indian activity on the Cumberland Plateau. There seems to be a "specific, elaborate" purpose to the visits by the Mississippians, who he said might have been related to later Cherokee tribes.
"We have not yet assessed its sacred nature, but the information it may hold about the Mississippian period in that part of the world is great," he said.
UT anthropologist Jan Simek, who has taken students to the site, said it is among the most significant in the Southeast. It is protected by a locked gate, but Dr. Simek said he hopes it can be protected more permanently.
"It is a heritage treasure, and should be held in the hands of the people," he said. "It's hard to overstate the importance."
'DISCUSSIONS' OF STATE PURCHASE
Nick Fielder, the state's archaeologist, said, "We would be very desirous of seeing something worked out that can protect and preserve the cave property."
Mr. Fielder said the state has a program to buy special archaeological sites, although he said there was no indication the owner is considering separating the cave from the land sale. Mr. McWhorter said he plans to sell the property as a whole.
At present, Mr. Fielder said, there are ongoing "informal discussions" among state officials about what could be done with the property.
"This property would definitely qualify for state acquisition," he said.
Mr. Townsend, among those who said he feared the land could end up being developed and subdivided, said the Cherokee's chief planned to send a letter to Gov. Phil Bredesen explaining the significance of the cave.
Although the property remains on the market, Mr. McWhorter has set a tentative meeting with the Parks and Greenways Foundation to tour the site in January.
He said his family has enjoyed the property as a retreat, and that most of the prospective buyers, who have come from all across the country, are interested in the same purpose.
McWhorter Realty's ad also mentions "significant marketable timber," which is valued at $450,000, in a separate ad.
Mr. McWhorter said that while the family is committed to selling the property, he also hopes it is preserved. He said given the secluded nature of the property, it is unlikely to become an upscale subdivision.
"It's not like development is breathing down our neck," Mr. McWhorter said.
But Dr. Ric Finch, a Tennessee Tech University geologist who also has taken students to the cave, said that could change in an instant, especially because retirees and second-home buyers are flocking to other parts of Cumberland County. He said he hopes that some foundation, individual or the state steps up to purchase the land.
"I just see so many spectacular properties falling to out-of-staters, and many of them should be preserved for all the people of Tennessee," Dr. Finch said.
E-mail Ian Berry at iberry@timesfreepress.com