Exploring Nature
At a time before radio, motion pictures, television and the Internet, exploring the surrounding natural world was a popular past time for Grandview residents and students attending the Grandview Normal Institute. Large group hikes to Piney Falls, Gum Gap and Beauty Peak were not uncommon. On Saturdays and holidays, one or more wagons would depart early in the morning for the caves of Grassy Cove or the crest of Black Mountain. Many of those making the trips were serious collectors of butterflies and moths, rocks and minerals, wildflowers and tree leafs. Others would record the time and place of bird or animal sitings. Today, those living locally and not-so-locally continue to visit and enjoy these unique natural areas. However, the choice of hiking apparel has undergone considerable change.
Group at Black Mountain. Photo taken by M. L. (Martin Luther) Abbott, August 12, 1886.
L to R - John Freeman Jewett, Jessie G. Huntington, Nelson Graham Higby, Mary H. Abbott, Alice B. Huntington, Ira Merritt, Mary Lucy Jewett.
A Base Camp - Circa 1886.
Sitting L to R - Mary Lucy Jewett, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown, Alice B. Huntington, Mary H. Abbott.
Standing at rear, Nelson Graham Higby. Photo by Harriett Russell Stratton..
Among the Rocks at Black Mountain - Circa 1890
Photo by Harriet Russell Stratton..
Among the Rocks at Black Mountain - Circa 1890.
Subjects unknown. Photo by Harriett Russell Stratton.
Resting Along the Way - Circa 1895
Subjects unknown. Photo by Harriet Russell Stratton.
Very Large Picnic Group - 1901
Subjects unknown.
Group Exploring Grassy Cove Cave - Circa 1906.
Lena Stebbins is in center of photo slightly to the left and framed by the three women wearing hats. Frank Wyatt is sitting above and to the left of Lena. This photo captured the first day they met. They were married May 6, 1911. Note the four lanterns in the photo.
Another Group at Grassy Cove Cave - 1909.
Around Thanksgiving each year, two wagon loads of people would make an outing to the cave in Grassy cave. This photograph captures one of those outings. Five lanterns can be seen in the photo. Also note the women wearing scarfs before entering the cave. Miss Anna Larned, Grandview Normal Institute teacher 1901-1913, is second from the left in the front row group. Miss Cleora V. Weeks, another GNI teacher 1908-1911, is at the far left in the back.
A GNI School Outing - 1909.
Front L to R - Maise Cawood (?), Unknown, Dora Dewey.
Back L to R - Margaret Cash, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown,Dora Miller, Bessie Cash, Unknown, Lula Miller
Picnic Group at Gum Gap - 1911.
Sitting L to R - Essie Waller, Reba Waller, Mae Robbs.
Standing L to R - Ralph Olmstead, Celia Gonce, Mazie Cawood, Bertha Olmstead, Bob Cawood, Frank Russell, Elda Ruffner, Bertie Gonce, Claude Robbs.
A Picnic Begins - Circa 1913
L to R - Eugene Hinds (1915 GNI graduate), Dorothy Stratton Lansing (1916 GNI graduate) (front), Unknown, Unknown, Unknown, William Alonzo Hinds (1916 GNI graduate), Hargus Martin (front), Cordelia Hinds (1913 GNI graduate).
Group Visiting Black Mountain Area - Circa 1913
The woman standing second from the right is believed to be Hattie Bowles, a Grandview Normal Institute student.
Taking a Rest - Circa 1913.
Only person identified in photo is Cordelia Hinds, 1913 graduate of the Grandview Normal Institute. Miss Hinds is sitting near the center of photograph, wearing a gray jacket and a white blouse..
GNI Group Out for a Hike.
Subjects unknown.
A Picnic in the Woods - Spring 1919.
L to R - George Barnard, Miss Olivia Leas (GNI teacher), Miss Flora Holway (GNI teacher), Miss Lucile Finkle (GNI teacher), Martin Stinecipher, Stephen Cawood, Miss Willie Lou Johnson (GNI teacher), Jesse Stinecipher. Mr. Cawood and Mr. Stinecipher are in uniform having just returned from U.S. Army camp.
Checking the View - Circa 1920.
Subjects unknown.
Friends at the Base of Upper Piney Falls - Circa 1895
Beauty Peak and its Trailing Arbutus
Due to its proximity to the community and the school, Beauty Peak was the point of interest most visited by the early residents of Grandview and students attending the Grandview Normal Institute. Located at the very edge of the Cumberland Plateau and less than a mile from the community's center, it was a convenient spot for viewing the eastern edge of the Tennessee River Valley where the Appalachian Mountains delineate the Tennesssee-North Carolina border. Beauty Peak was popular for its Trailing Arbutus, also known as the Mayflower plant. This wildflower blooms on the forest floor along the plateau's rocky edge. It displays clusters of sweet-smelling pink or white blooms, and is considered a harbinger of the Spring season. Requiring very specific growing conditions, much of its habitat was destroyed during the 20th Century, and it is now a very rare wildflower species protected in many states. Taken circa 1912, the photo at left captures Eva Harmon and Della Montgomery at Beauty Peak with their "harvest" of Trailing Arbutus.
