Fernweh, An Ache for Distant Places

Sweetwater, Tennessee is located along the Sweetwater Creek, a branch of the Tennessee River in Sweetwater Valley. It is at foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains and the 9 Lakes Region, close to Vonore, Tellico Plains, and the Cherohala Skyway.

Sweetwater is a small town of nearly seven square miles, first established in the 1850s and officially incorporated in 1887. Like its neighbouring towns in Monroe County, this land was first inhabited by the Muscogee and Cherokee people.

Stop by the Sweetwater History Museum to learn more, but check their hours or make an appointment first because they are only open limited times during certain months.

The Sweetwater Depot and Visitors Center (no website) is another resource of historical information, and where you can pick up brochures on what to do around Monroe County.

The depot sits within Circle Park on Main Street near the old Southern Railway train car.

The car was recently renovated and opened for the public to walk through and hang out in.

At the center of the park is a fountain with various flags and veteran memorials.

Another historical site marker I found along the highway en route to Sweetwater Valley Farms, was this giant statue of a paper crane. The first few times I drove by I kicked myself for not stopping, but I finally didd.

Turns out there was a Japanese Boarding school called Tennessee Meiji Gakuin High School in Sweetwater from 1989 until it closed 2007. What an unusual find. 

Another quirky thing I love about Sweetwater is that their downtown street signs are made of painted wooden posts with the street names stenciled on them vertically.

A few new murals have been popping up around town like the This Girl Can mural by Kim Radford, who also painted the Sweetwater namesake mural.

Jenny Ustick‘s Hurrah! is the newest addition to downtown.

Both of these murals were sponsored by DMA Events, a local nonprofit art organization that received awards form the National Endowment for the Arts and its Women’s Suffrage project grant. Both murals also appear on various mural trail guides.

Hurrah! is a tribute to Febb Burn, the letter she wrote to her son Harry T. Burn, and to Harry who is credited for casting the tie-breaking vote to ratify the 19th Amendment and grant women the right to vote.

I have to say that I am already familiar with Ustick’s work all over my homeland in the Cincinnati/Dayton area of Ohio. You can read more about that here. I was so excited to learn that she was painting in the tiny town of Sweetwater that I made another trip just to see it once it was finished.

Other popular trails and tours in Sweetwater include Civil War Trails, Appalachian Quilt Trail, the Tennessee Antique Trail, and touring the Tsali Notch Vineyard nearby in Madisonville.

Sweetwater has several antique stores. Above, you can see a painted Quilt Square, and floral arrangements for the Blooms, Bluegrass, and BBQ festival.

Downtown Sweetwater has so many cute boutiques and specialty shops, so much more than antiques.

Sweetwater General Store, Dogwood Lane Boutique, Misfits on Main, and Shop the World are some of my picks.

Sweetwater Western Wear is super fun to visit.

I have been trying to visit Remedies Inn over a span of about eight attempts, but can not seem to catch them open, so I may just have to book a room for the night.  I am especially curious about the five suites they offer, each one with a different theme paying tribute to the building’s history as a Pharmacy/Drugstore for lord knows how long.

Upstairs at the Mansion is another place I would love to check out, but they never seem to be open! I have tried a few times now, but perhaps I will score next time.

Sweetwater has a surprising variety and number of locally owned and operated dining options including Bradley’s Pit BBQ & Sweet Side, Cup Runneth Over Coffee, China East, El Jacal, Kokita Asian, Steamer’s, Sweetwater Creamery, as well as all the usual corporate chain fast food and pizza places.

Hunter’s Bakery & Cafe has a good, simple breakfast but what really drew me in was their sweets case.

Hunter’s is home of the “Big Kid Cookie” that sells out super fast.

We took home a brownie and a carrot cake bar.

We really enjoyed the Carbonara and Frutti di Mare at Vittorino’s Italian Cucina, and the kids loved their spaghetti and meatballs.

On another visit I had the Catalina Cannellini, stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, and ricotta. I can see this being a dish I go back for again and again.

The Blooms, Bluegrass, & BBQ Festival is Sweetwater’s biggest annual event, and we have been twice now.

The tiny town really comes to life for live bluegrass, various hosts, speakers, and comedians.

There are activities for kids and teens, vendor booths to peruse, and several food trucks to choose from that set up in the Main Street Market lot by Duck Park.

The soaps and lotions from this vendor smell incredible.

You can pick up all sorts of locally-sourced produce and handmade goods.

Sweetwater Valley Farm is one of Sweetwater’s top attractions, and my personal favourite place in town. It’s technically closer to Philadelphia but Sweetwater is in the name, so…

Farm staff do everything from growing the plants and food that the cows are fed, to caring for them each day and striving to let them live their best happy dairy cow lives, to actually making the dairy products start to finish, to slicing up a cheese plate or mixing a fresh milkshake and handing it to you across the counter.

You can learn about the whole process on a one-hour guided walking tour that lasts about one hour. It is best to book it online in advance. Keep in mind that it’s a dairy farm, and farms are stinky, and don’t be like that one woman who kept yelling “it stinks!” the whole time.

Also, there was a random guy playing bagpipes out in the field. No one cared.

They have an adorable cafe and gift shop you can browse while waiting on your treats. These feature locally made products from other farms and artists, and make great gifts.

They partner up with other local farms to source their menu also, so everything you get came from the land you are standing on or from someone they know, who grew it or made it themselves, like Benton’s Bacon, Vienna Coffee, and Cades Cove BBQ.

I really just love a classic vanilla shake, but I have been convinced to try one (or two) of their cookies and cream milkshake before and it was seriously the best.

Once you eat your grilled cheese or get your shake to go, walk over to the Cheese Shop and prepare to be amazed. Refrigerated cases line the walls from one side to the other, packed with fresh cheddars, goudas, curds, and specialty flavoured cheeses. I have only seen this much cheese in one place when I was in Wisconsin.

You can try samples and pick up wine, crackers, and other fixin’s for a fantastic charcuterie board or picnic lunch.

The Lost Sea is the one site that draws more out-of-state and out-of-country tourists than any other attraction or festival in the region. The Lost Sea is America’s largest underground lake and is located inside the prehistoric Craighead Caverns system.

The oldest known activity inside the cave was pinpointed when the bones of a jaguar from the Pleistocene era, around 20,000 years ago were found. The bones were gifted to New York ‘s American Museum of Natural History and are still on display.

There is a huge arena-like room in the heart of this cave known as the Council Room where Cherokee Indians met for rituals, healing, socializing, and shelter. An assortment of arrowheads, pottery, and other relics have been unearthed here in the past.

The tour begins with a guided walking segment, and ends with an optional ride in a glass-bottom boat through the darkness. Read more about that in this blog.

In the area for a while? Follow me to some of Monroe County’s other awesome places like Vonore, Tellico Plains, and the Cherohala Skyway.

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