Sight · Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A quick stop for a piece of Little Cataloochee's history.
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The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Great Smoky Mountains audio tourRecorded for this place
Will Messer Barn“Will Messer Barn is ahead, beside Cataloochee Ranger Station. Stop for a quick look at its timber walls, stone footing and open lower bay.”
Plays as you drive up to Will Messer Barn in the Parkwolf Great Smoky Mountains Tour Guide.
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Guide
Will Messer Barn is a restored early-1900s farm barn beside Cataloochee Ranger Station. It makes a worthwhile short stop while exploring the valley, but the building was moved here; this is not the farm site where Will Messer built it.
Messer built the barn on his farm in Little Cataloochee between 1900 and 1905. In 1977 it was moved beside the ranger station after the original farm area had become overgrown. The Little Cataloochee Trail passes the old farm site, so keep the two locations straight if you are planning a hike there.
Messer ran apple orchards, a store and the local post office, as well as a sawmill and gristmill. Little Cataloochee grew from 391 people in 1880 to 1,251 in 1910; Messer and his family left for Caldwell County in 1934. That history gives this small stop a connection to a working community, not just an old building.
Notice the weathered timber walls, shingled roof, stone footing and open lower bay. For a photo, keep the open bay and roofline together; a view around the end brings out the broad plank door and stonework.
Wildlife
1,569 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
900 sightingsElkMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
13 sightingsBald EagleMost seen around 9 AMSighting map
142 sightingsTimber RattlesnakeMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
26 sightingsBobcatMost seen around 8 PMSighting map
42 sightingsRiver OtterMost seen around 7 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Great Smoky Mountains. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ModerateBoogerman Loop Trail7.5 mi · 5 hr · 0.3 mi awayCreek crossings, giant old-growth trees, and mountain homestead traces
ModerateCaldwell Fork Trail6.3 mi · 4 hr · 0.3 mi awayCreekside miles past old farm traces and a school site
EasyCataloochee Horse Trail3.1 mi · 1.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA creekside walk along the old road through Big Cataloochee.
ChallengingLittle Cataloochee Trail12.1 mi · 6.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayA long, rolling hike to cabins, a church, and mountain history
ChallengingPretty Hollow Gap Trail10.9 mi · 7.5 hr · 1.1 mi awayFollow a creek into a steep climb toward the Smokies ridge.
ModeratePalmer Creek Trail9 mi · 6 hr · 1.3 mi awayA long creekside climb to the high mountain road
ModerateBig Fork Ridge Loop Trail9.3 mi · 5.5 hr · 1.7 mi awayRugged 9.3-mile loop with creek crossings and a Balsam Mountain view.
EasyRough Fork Trail to Steve Woody House2 mi · 1.3 hr · 1.8 mi awayA gentle creekside walk to a historic Cataloochee homestead.
Campground · 0.4 mi awayCataloochee CampgroundCamp in a remote valley of old homesteads and elk country.
Sight · 0.9 mi awayPalmer ChapelA small valley church with a big role in Cataloochee's story.
Sight · 1 mi awayJarvis Palmer HouseTwo log cabins under one roof became a Cataloochee homestead.
Sight · 1.2 mi awayBeech Grove SchoolA 1901 schoolhouse with a local story about fire.
Campground · 1.2 mi awayCataloochee Horse CampSeven sites for horse camping beside Cataloochee Creek.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayCaldwell PlaceOld newspaper still lines the walls of this mountain home.
Scenic pullout · 1.9 mi awayCataloochee Valley OverlookA quick first look before the winding road reaches the valley.
Sight · 1.9 mi awayCook CabinA restored 1850s cabin rewards the walk through Little Cataloochee.Parkwolf’s Great Smoky Mountains ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
