Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
See the Cades Cove Region web page for an interactive location map.
The second stop on the Cades Cove Loop Road at Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the Primitive Baptist Church, though you must take a dirt side road to get to it. A sign points the way. The road is only one car wide, so if another car is coming in the other direction, somebody has to pull off the side of the road.
While the Primitive Baptist Church was established in 1827, the building now standing was constructed in 1887. This replaced the original log cabin that served as the meeting place. The church temporarily closed during the Civil War because church members were pro-Union and the rest of Cades Cove was pro-Confederacy; supposedly the preacher was run out of town. In later years, the church was home to the most influential people in Cades Cove. If you were shunned by this church, nobody would do business or socialize with you.
Grave of Russell Gregory in the cemetery of the Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Park Rangers or volunteers are stationed at the church for a few hours in the afternoon during the tours season to give lectures and answer questions. During the fall, so many people will be inside the church listening to the lecture that when they come out afterwards it looks as if service just ended.
Interior of the Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The church cemetery surrounds the building. Visitors must walk on a path that skirts around the tombstones and thus cannot walk among them to get a closer look. If you like to take photos of tombstones, you will need a telephoto lens. Here you can find many of the early settlers of Cades Cove, including the very first, John Oliver and his wife, whose cabin you passed just before arriving at the church. Those who lived in the area when Great Smoky Mountains National Park was established and their family members can still be buried in the cemetery.
John and Lurena Oliver grave in the cemetery of the Primitive Baptist Church in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Tipton Harley grave, a more recent addition to the Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church cemetery in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The church can be rented for weddings during the month of October, though only on Mondays through Fridays from 9 AM to noon. For more information visit the National Park Service’s Wedding Permits and Planning web page for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
If you attend one of the Ranger talks, plan to spend at least 30 minutes for this and a walk around the cemetery.
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Last updated on February 5, 2025
