Attractions in SE Tennessee

"Everybody needs places to play in and pray in -
where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul."
-John Muir

Area Information Resources
Shopping, Arts & Crafts
Cherohala Skyway Scenic Drive
Events & Festivals
Historical Sites
Restaurants

MONROE COUNTY INFORMATION RESOURCES

• Online Resources: TennesseeOverhill.com, Outfitter & Guide Services, MonroeCounty.com, and CokerCreekTN.com.
  
  
• Tellico Plains Welcome Center - Highway 165 in Tellico Plains, just before the entrance to the Cherohala Skyway. Here you can get most of the information you will need to visit and enjoy the Cherokee National Forest inlcuding maps, books, gifts, directions, and much more.
  
  
• Tellico Ranger Station - Has the same information as the Welcome Center, plus camping and hiking reservations tips, scientific data, and forest area opening and closing schedules.
  
  
• Coker Creek Folks. Any local resident will usually be delighted to update you on local events and great places to visit. For example, Betty McRee in the local Post Office or any of the volunteers at the local Welcome Center in "downtown" Coker Creek (Highway 68 at Hot Water Road) can tell you where the best scenic views, hiking trails and browsing for arts and crafts can be found.
  
  

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SHOPPING, ARTS AND CRAFTS
Here is a list of some of the local shops and stores in Monroe County: Madisonville, Coker Creek and Tellico Plains. Things are always changing, however, so be sure to ask questions before going out of your way.

• Madisonville. Walmart is right off Hwy 68 and carries whatever you might need.
  
  
• Tellico Plains. Yates Hardware & Sundries, Dollar Store, grocery store; also Scott Street Gallery, Stone Cottage Shops, Tellico Arts Center, and Tellico Flowers and Gallery.
  
  
• Coker Creek. Coker Creek Gallery, Coker Creek Way, Creative Edge Gallery, Designs by Baerreis, Jewelry by Elisabeth, and Seven Sisters Crafts & Honey.
  
  
• Coker Creek Autumn Gold Festival features area artists and craftsmen.
  
  

EVENTS & FESTIVALS

• Autumn Gold Festival - Coker Creek, Second weekend in October.
  
  
• Candlelight Walk - Tellico Plains, 1st Saturday in December.
  
  
• Polk County Fair - Benton, second week in September.
  
  
• For more listings, see MonroeCounty.com.
  
  

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HISTORICAL & OTHER SITES

• Charles Hall Museum - Next to the Welcome Center in Tellico Plains. Tellico Plains history, and the private antique collections of former Mayor Charles Hall.
  
  
• Ducktown Basin Museum - South towards the Georgia border. Features the mining history of the area.
  
  
• Fort Loudon Historical Site - Living History.
  
  
• Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge is about 90 minutes away, north on Highway 411. Tourist mecca; lots of things to see and do here.
  
  
• The Lost Sea - Largest underground lake in America. Close to Sweetwater and I-75.
  
  
• Sequoyah Birthplace Museum - Living history and more of the first written alphabet of the Cherokee nation.
  
  

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RESTAURANTS
This list is current as of November, 2005. So be sure to check for the latest changes by typing in the city names in Google, or just ask a local. There are also many more eatin' places to be found in Madisonville, Vonore, and Sweetwater, or in Copperhill and McCaysville, Georgia to the south.

• Bistro on the River - Past Tellico Plains at the entrance to the Cherohala Skyway. Formerly Cardin's Restaurant, this establishment is under new ownership and is fairly upscale. The Bistro features both inside and outdoor dining, great views of the Tellico River, the Serenity Chapel, a beautiful meditation site next to the river, and the Telliquah Stone Wall, reportedly the oldest stone wall in the United States (click on the pictures for a larger image):
                 
  
  
• Donna's Old Town Cafe - Downtown Madisonville, across from the Monroe County Courthouse. www.OldTownCafe.com or call (423) 442-3304. Afterwards, take a short walk and explore historic downtown Madisonville. (click on the pictures for a larger image):
             
  
  
• Checkerboard Restaurant - near downtown TP. Home cooking & inexpensive.
  
  
• Davis Mountain Deli - Coker Creek; 6 miles south of TP on Hwy 68. Fast food and groceries.
  
  
• Hardees - TP between Highway 68 and Bank Street.
  
  
• Tellico Pizza - downtown TP on Hwy 165. A local favorite.
  
  
• Telli-hala Cafe - Bank Street, TP; Gourmet cooking at reasonable prices.
  
  
• Town Square Cafe & Bakery - downtown TP. Good breakfast, pastries and pizza, dine-in or take out; (423) 253-2200.
  
  
• Tellico Grains - This is the new kid on the block with a distinctly old-world feel and aroma. Located on the left before the central business square in downtown TP, this shop features fresh-baked whole grain breads, pastries, and pizza. Click on the picture (right) to enlarge.
  

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Welcome Center & Charles Hall Museum

   

Tellico Plains Welcome Center (above left) is located off Highway 68 on Highway 165 East, the gateway to the Cherokee National Forest. Newly-built and dedicated to the memory of long-time Coker Creek resident and civic volunteer Audrey Payne, the Center features exhibits, books, tapes, maps, and lots of smiling faces and friendly volunteers who love this part of "God's Country."

The Charles Hall Museum & Gift Shop is next door to the Welcome Center and well-worth a visit. Open daily 9-5:30, you can also call toll-free 1-866-761-9368 for more information.
The museum features timeless treasures from the private collection of Charles Hall, the former Mayor of Tellico Plains. Displays include over 200 guns, an extensive antique telephone collection, coin collection (including Monroe County currency), a 1922 Model T Ford phone truck, and dozens of old photographs, pictures and models of old Tellico Plains. If you're lucky, you might even get a tour from the former mayor himself who can tell you the story of how he and others in the late 1950's organized and began a yearly Wagon Train excursion of local citizens through the old mountain trails in an effort to publicize the need for a mountain highway passage to North Carolina. Their efforts resulted in the Cherohala Skyway, little-known as one of the premier scenic drives in the USA.

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Coker Creek Gallery

       

Coker Creek Gallery is located off Highway 68, on Hot Water Road, about 9 miles south of Tellico Plains. The road is so named (I'm told) because in the old days, anyone venturing up this private road would soon be in "hot water." Bill & Laura Hodge are the current owners; they bought it from the Daltons, a family that goes back generations to some of the original settlers to Coker Creek. Check out the art and artifacts that fill their beautiful gallery: framed photos, paintings, pottery, mobiles, and stained glass are just some of the items they carry. Wood carvings, candles, wind chimes, and books will hold you there for hours, especially if you get the Hodges (or the occassional drop-ins Kathleen or Ken Dalton) to regale you with stories about the Trail of Tears (now Joe Brown Highway through the Cherokee National Forest), and Fort Armistead, the holding place for "renegades" waiting to be herded off to Oklahoma.

Folks come from all over the country to visit this spot, so don't miss them on your visit here. Bill and Laura can be reached at (423) 261-2157, or check out their website at CokerCreekGallery.com

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Seven Sisters

       

Seven Sisters is located on Highway 68 in Coker Creek, north of Ironsburg and 1 1/2 mile south of Coker Creek Village. Cathy and Phil collect honest-to-gosh honey, including clover, wildflower, poplar, sourwood, and goldenrod from 50 beehives. Their bee pollen is gathered year-round for the healthiest concentration. They also carry of Blairsville sorghum and have a fine collection of wind chimes, glassware, incense, stained glass and other arts and handmade gift items. 423-261-2777. Open Fri.- Sun. 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mailing address: 116 Utah Rd., Tellico Plains, TN 37385.

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