The Hensleys started a settlement
From the Mountains
Yet for nearly fifty years a group of people lived atop Cumberland Mountain in a manner similar to that of homesteaders a century earlier.
In 1845 Governor William Owsley of Kentucky granted 500 acres of land at the headwaters of Martins Fork and Shillalah Creek on the top of Cumberland Mountain to a Mr. Bates.
In May of 1903 this land was purchased by Burton Hensley, Sr., who then subdivided most of it into sixteen parts which was deeded to his heirs.
There were no roads to the mountaintop when Sherman Hensley, Burton’s son-in-law moved his family there in December of 1903. Most people of that era moved during winter months so they would be available for spring planting.
Hensley came from Martins Fork in Harlan County with his wife, Nicey Ann who was 3 months pregnant and their small son.
They unloaded their wagons and reloaded their belongings onto a sled at the base of the mountain which was pulled by mule along a rough trail to the mountaintop.
They took a gray mare, two heifers a calf and about 18 hogs. Once they were atop the mountain there was acre upon acre of relatively of flat Land.
Within a short time other family members followed mostly Hensley’s and Gibbons with whom they intermarried. Within a few years there were several farmsteads, blacksmith and carpentry shops, two water-powered grist mills, a sorghum mill and several whiskey stills.
The farmsteads included barns, hog houses, chicken house, smokehouse, corncrib, granary, beehives, springhouse, underground vegetable storage bins and sheep barn.
Each man, woman and child had to work to keep their families self-sufficient. Food was grown, harvested and preserved. They made their own tools.
Although having their own school the children were also taught the virtues and rewards of hard work.
There was a saying at Hensley Settlement that you could tell a man from a boy by how much he could carry. This encouraged boys to help with community chores.
They built mud chinked log houses with stone fireplaces and homemade furnishings. After the logs were in place the cracks were filled with mud and boarded over.
The nearby forest provided wood for their buildings and heat while making way for crops and pastures.
The hog population reached about 300 and they were allowed to roam free.
The number of people residing at the settlement reached about 100 when at its peak. The mountaintop community included about forty houses.
There wasn’t a road to Hensley Settlement while residents lived there nor was there electricity. There was a trail to Caylor, Va. and one to Brownies Creek on the Kentucky side but Hensley residents seldom left the mountain.
Some of the men left about once each week or two whereas the women would only leave about once each couple months. Many of the children would not leave the mountain until age 16 or18.
One thing they brought to the mountaintop was sugar as it was needed for the moonshine operations. The pure water from the headwaters of Martins Fork and Shillalah Creek made a favorite moonshine of many area residents of Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia as well as residents of the settlement.
Many of the young men entered government service during World War II while others took jobs in coalmines during and after the war.
Many of the young married mates from the valley and moved from the mountain.
The old passed away and others moved to the valleys. In the end there was just one resident left at the settlement. Sherman Hensley moved from the mountain in 1951. He had been the first and he was to be the last.
Hensley Settlement is within Cumberland Gap National Park and many of its structures have been restored making its appearance much as it was when it was inhabited.
The site is open year-round and is accessible by 4-wheel drive and by hiking.
The Park Service offers tours to Hensley Settlement on weekends beginning May 20. June thru September tours will be available on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Tours are available every day in October. The fee is $10 and Reservations are required. Otherwise, there is no charge to visit Hensley Settlement.
To make further inquiries you can call 606 248 2817.
Copyright 2023 Jadon Gibson. Jadon Gibson is a freelance writer from Harrogate. His writings are both historic and nostalgic in nature. If you like his stories tell others as they may like them too. Thanks to Lincoln Memorial University, Alice Lloyd College and the Museum of Appalachia. for their assistance.