Located in Little Greenbrier, the Walker Sisters cabin, was the home to six sisters.

Built in the mid-1800’s by the maternal grandfather of the sisters, Wiley King, and added on to in the 1870’s by John Walker, the cabin has been preserved on its original site. John and his wife Margaret reared four sons and seven daughters in the home and all but one of the sisters remained there until the last one passed away in July of 1964.

A 3-room, two-story log house, the home looks the same today as it did decades ago. Additionally, several outbuildings were constructed including a barn, a gristmill and a smokehouse. The farm also contained a grape arbor, an orchard, an herb and vegetable garden, sheep, hogs, fowl and milk cows.

The sisters said their land produced everything they needed except sugar, soda, coffee and salt.

When the government began purchasing land for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park the Walker sisters refused to sell their property for several years. Reluctantly they gave in and sold their122 acres of land to the government in 1941 for $4,751. The agreement included a lifetime lease that allowed the sisters to remain living in the cabin.

In 1946, The Saturday Evening Post wrote an article on the sisters and their farm soon became a hot spot for tourists. A sign was placed on a nearby highway leading visitors to the location of the farm. The Walkers took it in stride began selling mountain souvenirs to the tourists.

By 1953, only two of the sisters remained alive and they asked the park to remove the road sign and help with the upkeep of the farm. The park agreed and helped maintain the farm until the final sister, Louisa, passed away in 1964.

You can hike to the Walker Sisters Cabin today via the The Little Brier Gap Trail which can be accessed from the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area along Little River Road.

>> Saturday Evening Post Article

Walker Sisters Cabin