Dollywood

We had a family vacation this year. Matt, Katie, Allen and I met Tony, Susan, Claire and Jonah in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. We stayed in my uncle's condo and took day trips to various places. One of the places we went to was Dollywood. ( Tony, Susan and the babies did not go--they have been to Disney World so many times, so Dollywood was just not appealing to them. They all went on a train ride in Dillsboro. ) We had a good time there---especially Katie. She got to ride a bunch of rides, including a 'monster ' roller coaster.

Buena Vista

Construction was begun in 1822 by a foreign man, who was not able to complete the work. It was purchased in 1844 and completed by Capt. William Montgomery. The molding and finishing materials for the house were shipped over from England via oceanliner. English artisans came and worked on putting up the medalions and friezes and cornices, which are more elaborately done in the present double parlor and the dining room. Another notable feature in the 24 ft. spiral staircase. It is made of maghogany base and spirals up to the 3rd floor.

Unfortunately, I was not able to go inside to take any pictures. But as you will see, I took quite a few pics of the outside. The back of the house

Hunt's Alley

When I was downtown yesterday photographing old homes, I came across these very old houses. Hunt's Alley offers a trip back in time. History buffs Al Bock and Lenore Kirkpatrick purchased the two-acre tract about two years ago. It contained the last authentic shotgun-style houses in Prattville. The narrow, wood-framed homes were used by mill workers in the early 1900s.The four remaining buildings were renovated and will house businesses. A lady who is going to have her pottery business in one of the buildings just happened to be down there while I was taking pictures, and she asked me if I would like to go inside and see what it looked like. Prattville is getting a lot of new businesses and these are going to be some of the most unique.

Old homes in Prattville

I went around Prattville today photographing various places. There were several old homes that I thought were very interesting. In a later post, I will have more pics of places that I photographed while I was out today.