Avent Cabin, in the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, whi ...

near

Elkmont, Tennessee Elkmont is a region situated in the upper Little River Valley of the Great Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Throughout its history, the valley has been home to a pioneer Appalachian community, a logging town, and ...

, United States, is an early

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n mountain cabin that was used as a summer

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

and retreat by noted artist

Mayna Treanor Avent Mayna Treanor Avent (1868 — 1959) was an American painter. Early life Mayna Treanor Avent was born on September 17, 1868, in Nashville, Tennessee.''The South on Paper: Line, Color and Light'', Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Caro ...

(1865–1959). It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History and Description

Built around 1850 by the Ownby Family, it was constructed as a one-room cabin from poplar logs. The building has a gable roof, an exterior cobblestone and concrete chimney and a stone foundation. The main cabin is rectangular by . The logs are half dovetail notched with both mud and concrete chinking. Originally, there was only a single window and door in the cabin and no stone fireplace. Two of the entrance doors are vertical board design and date to about 1910. On the rear or east is a shed roof wing with vertical board siding that contains a kitchen and an enclosed porch. It was purchased in 1918 by Frank Avent, husband of Mayna Avent, for $200 from the Ownby family and remodeled into its present appearance in 1926. Ownership of the cabin and its of land was transferred to the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

in 1932. A lease was given to the son of Frank and Mayna Avent, James Avent and his wife Jeannette and remained with the Avent family until its expiration in 1992. Significant alternations were made in 1972, some of which were removed in 1992-1993 when the Avent lease expired to restore it to be closer to its appearance when it was used as a studio. It is the only authentic Appalachian Settler cabin that remains along Jake's Creek in its original location.Douglas Harnsberger, , 1 May 1993.

Use as the Avent Studio

Mayna Avent began using the cabin as a studio in 1919 and continued to do so for over 20 years. Several alterations to the structure were made to make it more conducive for studio use. For example, to improve illumination, two large openings were created: a window at the southwest elevation, and at the southeast wall, a pane glassed door providing access to the porch. A stone fireplace and stone chimney were constructed at the northeast wall.

Location

The cabin is located approximately south of

on the west side of Jake's Creek Valley. It is accessible on the Jake's Creek Trail which passes approximately to the east of the cabin. A footpath winds down to Jake's Creek crossing over traces of the old Elkmont Road, crosses over the Creek by a foot-log bridge, and up the ridge where the cabin is located on a steep bluff. At an altitude of , the cabin lies on a steep side of a ridge overlooking Jake's Creek Valley. Small areas of the forest were cleared by the Ownby family for apple orchards, potato and corn fields and for bee-keeping. Stone retaining walls, some of which can still be seen, were constructed to support the leveling of the topology for agricultural use.

Gallery

AventCabinSign.jpg, Sign below Cabin AventCabinKitchenEntrance.jpg, Kitchen Entrance AventCabinChimney.jpg, Exterior Chimney and corner detail with a stone retaining wall. AventCabinPorch.jpg, Porch AventCabinLoftFromBelow.jpg, Interior Loft From Below AventCabinFirePlace.jpg, Fireplace AventCabinInteriorLadder.jpg, Interior Loft Ladder AventCabinJakesCreekBridge.jpg, Bridge Crossing Jake's Creek below AventCabinJakesCreek.jpg, Jake's Creek Upstream View AventCabinOppositeRidge.jpg, View across Jake's Creek Valley

References

External links

Information archive about the Cabin Studio and the Artist
{{DEFAULTSORT:Avent, Mayna Treanor, Studio Artists' studios in the United States Houses in Sevier County, Tennessee Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Sevier County, Tennessee National Register of Historic Places in Great Smoky Mountains National Park 1850 establishments in Tennessee