The Great Smoky Mountains Heritage Center is a private museum in Townsend, Tennessee, near the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The museum’s mission is to preserve the culture and heritage of the folks living in the Great Smoky Mountains, the Native Americans, the pioneers and the Appalachian communities. The center was officially opened in February 2006. The center has more than 17,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor exhibits. The outdoor area includes a number of structures from around the region, such as a log cabin, an AME Zion chapel, two cantilever barns, a logging town house, a sawmill and a still that was once operated by a local moonshiner. The indoor displays showcase tools, furniture and musical instruments and a collection of Cherokee and other Native American artifacts. Some of them are dating to the Archaic period (8000–2000 B.C.).
123 Cromwell Dr, Townsend, TN 37882, Phone: 865-448-0044
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