Beneath The Waters of: Cherokee lake | Old hotel foundations revealed by low lake levels

[@amymartin2249]

My great grandmother, Nancy Caroline Harrell, lived and worked as a servant girl at Three Springs Hotel for 10 years after she was orphaned in 1877. The Francis P. Bishop family owned it at that time, but I don't know if they built it. She baked pies for the Bishop family and their guests. The family was very kind to her and treated her as one of their own. She left them when she got married in 1888 to a millwright named Daniel Mason. I have a love letter written on spa letterhead exchanged between the two. The Bishops charged $1.25/ day, $8.00/wk, $25./mo. “Children and colored servants, half price.” My mother would have loved this video. She passed at age 97 two years ago, but not before recounting stories her mother told her about Russellville, and three Springs. Thank you so much for sharing.

[@JRB13]

Cave spider 😮 hopefully those drown😂

[@peytonhibdon7659]

I imagine those steps have claimed countless props over the years. 😵😵😵

[@Oldhistory]

Probably a broke ankle here and there too

[@SHess65]

Awesome video, I’ve always been interested in the history behind our lake. I’ve seen some pretty interesting stuff on my graph through the years and some are clearly house foundations or old bridges but some I just can’t explain. If I can find a way to send it to you I’ll send you a picture of the wildest thing I have found and no one so far has ever been able to explain what it is.

[@Oldhistory]

If you are on facebook, you can find my page under the same name there. or, you can email it to me at [e-mail] I look forwardf to seeing just what you have found!

[@cherokeelaketennessee7895]

Love to hear about history prior to Cherokee Dam being built. I was exploring an island way down the lake and found an old road bed. I kept walking it and found a set of concrete steps coming off the road bed. I was able to find the steps that would have been from the back porch of the house, tons of bricks, and an old brick lined cistern. The cistern has / had, hundreds of old medicine bottles in it. I was setting there on the front porch steps trying to use my imagination what it may have looked like back in the 1930s, before dam was built. This area stays in the dry all year so it's probably in a little better shape than the sites I've seen that are covered with water most of the year. Glad I found your channel, very interesting stuff!

[@Oldhistory]

There are sites like that all around the original 11e, which is probably what you were walking. I myself have a wild imagination and have at times had to sit down and picture what everything was like before the great flood. My favorite spot is a place in hawkins county where my Great Great Grandmother was born, and lived until TVA bought her property. Can still go out there to this day at high or low tide and see the remains of her chimney and barn. I believe I did a video on that area.

[@crystaldaniels9389]

Fabulous! Thanks for sharing

[@egyptcat4301]

Wow! This is amazing!

[@davestrains6816]

Very interesting. Love hearing these stories about where I live. thanks for sharing. Dave

[@rachelynn3079]

I love this kind of stuff. I'm down the road from you in Bristol and there's a community at the bottom of our lake called Big Springs. It was a resort and the logging train even brought passengers there. It's at the deepest part so we can't see it in the winter like you can this hotel, but I did find one last clue that it existed. There was a small lookout/fire tower on a big hill used for the community back then. The foundation is now hidden at the edge of the lake. Just amazes me that the area where it's located used to look like a small mountain before the flood!

[@Oldhistory]

That sounds like a pretty awesome place. It's always interesting to see what is under our feet, that we walk over every day! Shoot me a message on my facebook page and I'll send you a pre lake map