Well, this past week I was looking down into the holler toward Webb’s Creek thinking about a modern petroglyph chiseled on a hidden boulder in the Smokies. In the event you haven’t used that word in the last month or more so here is a refresher. A petroglyph is a drawing or image carved on a rock by prehistoric folks.

Prehistoric drawings of bison and hunters have been discovered in caves in France and there are some cool Indian petroglyphs near the “Yoo-Hoo” ranch outside of Sedona, Arizona. Petroglyphs sometimes depict stories of life and sometimes include symbols that were important to the petroglypher (brand new word). There is a modern petroglyph in the Smokies that tells a bittersweet story that occurred nearly a century ago.

If you journey into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park from the Greenbrier entrance... about six miles east of the Hard Rock Café, you will enter what was once a bustling farming community and home for more than 800 pioneers and settlers. There were schools, churches, stores, farms and even a hotel. Dolly Parton’s grandfather, Walter, lived in Greenbrier a couple of miles out on Grapeyard Ridge Trail and the birthsite of Mayor Glenn Cardwell, can still be found up along Injun Creek behind the ranger station.

The rusted remains of a truck sits idly in the overgrowth along the gravel road to Ramsey Cascades and a settler’s bed springs has become a flower and weed bed amongst the rhododendron. There is even an old steam engine that rolled off a mountain into the creek over 80 years ago! It is still occupies the middle of the stream. Such artifacts of the 1800s and early 1900s are melting away into the landscape, but that important historic period should never be forgotten.

The many cemeteries along Porter’s Creek in Greenbrier are filled with young children and mothers who died in childbirth and the markers seem to indicate that men often outlived a number of wives in those days. The headstones are mostly home-made, and faded etched messages with an occasional misspelled word speak of true love and grief. Greenbrier was once a vibrant farm community... before the establishment of the park forced the residents to move out.

The forest has since reclaimed the farm fields and most of the artifacts are now hidden in the overgrowth or returned to the soil. Rock walls stand guard as visible reminders that this area was once populated with hundreds of neighbors, friends and relatives. Leaving Greenbrier to make way for the national park was for many, a painful and heart-wrenching eviction. Anger, tears and sadness traveled on those wagons and mules as the settlers left the hollers and flatlands of Greenbrier so we could have a national park. It was a sad exodus.

If you travel past the ranger station to the picnic area on the left side of the road you can find that modern day petroglyph. Count 19 steps south from the men’s restroom door... parallel to the river and then six steps to the left and find the petroglyph hidden on the backside of a boulder situated at the former site of a mill. It is easy to visualize the re-routed stream as it rushed past the mill, turning wheels that turned the corn into meal. If you rub some dirt on the petroglyph it will be easier to see.

A settler chiseled that now worn, but touching image of that mill as a loving remembrance. I’m taking a good guess it was created with bittersweet feelings of love and grief. It was a really nice looking mill. In a way that modern petroglyph is a fitting symbol for an entire mountain community that once shared the struggles, joys and beauty of a magnificent place still known as Greenbrier.

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is nearing the end of its 75th year celebration and we should never forget those who sacrificed so much for us and future generations. Yep, I can still see that Greenbrier farmer and petroglypher in his bib overalls and worn hi-top boots. With weathered hands and a firm grip on hammer and chisel he captured a memory and a piece of his and our history in stone. I’m grateful. That is just how it looks from my log cabin.

— John LaFevre helps small businesses with group health and payroll and is co-author of the interactive national park hiking book series, Scavenger Hike Adventures. Contact John at HYPERLINK “mailto:scavengerhike@aol.com” scavengerhike@aol.com. Artist G. Webb provides the artwork for the column and lives in Pittman Center. Visit Gwebbgallery.com.