Old Soul Appalachian

Old Soul Appalachian Hey y’all my name is Tara, I’m just a gal who loves to capture and document history before it disappears. I also love nature & often share its beauty.
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Friend to all cats! ✨

06/08/2026

Found while traveling backroads in 📍East TN

The David Rankin House, built in the 1790s, stands quietly in Greene County, Tennessee, as a reminder of the state’s ear...
06/08/2026

The David Rankin House, built in the 1790s, stands quietly in Greene County, Tennessee, as a reminder of the state’s earliest days.

Rankin played an important role in the history of frontier Tennessee. He was involved in the State of Franklin movement, the effort by settlers west of the mountains to separate from North Carolina and establish their own government. He also served during the Revolutionary War at the Battle of Kings Mountain and later received large tracts of land from North Carolina for his military service.

This Federal-style home was listed as a historic landmark in the 1970s, yet designation alone does not guarantee preservation. Today, the old house is in serious decline. The rear portion appears especially vulnerable, and one of its chimneys has already collapsed.

Like so many historic homes across Appalachia, it remains standing between preservation and loss—a tangible link to Tennessee’s frontier past that grows a little more fragile with each passing year.

Good morning y’all!
06/08/2026

Good morning y’all!

06/08/2026

Tennessee Backroads

06/07/2026

My husbands favorite road side find

Sending you Sunday blessings from the field ☀️
06/07/2026

Sending you Sunday blessings from the field ☀️

06/07/2026

Sadly I think this one is far too gone now. 📍VA

Ok y’all, my diddy bag is packed.My grandma and my mom always said, “Go pack a diddy bag” or “Don’t forget your diddy ba...
06/06/2026

Ok y’all, my diddy bag is packed.

My grandma and my mom always said, “Go pack a diddy bag” or “Don’t forget your diddy bag.” Around here, a diddy bag was the little bag you carried when you were headed somewhere—whether it was for a few hours or a few days.

Now, I’m not entirely sure if it’s spelled diddy bag or ditty bag, but that’s what we’ve always called it. I figured everybody knew what one was until I married a Yankee who’d never heard the term before… bless his heart!

Did anybody else grow up calling it a diddy bag?

Nestled among a grove of black walnut trees, the Yeary Cabin offers a glimpse into the self-sufficient way of life that ...
06/06/2026

Nestled among a grove of black walnut trees, the Yeary Cabin offers a glimpse into the self-sufficient way of life that shaped Appalachian communities for generations.

Designed as a recreation of a traditional mountain homestead, the site reflects what pioneer life looked like from the late 1700s through the early 1900s. Families often began with a simple log cabin and, as their needs grew, added smokehouses, barns, workshops, and other structures essential to daily life.

The homestead features two historic log cabins connected by an enclosed dogtrot, along with a blacksmith shop, outdoor bread oven, bee gums, outhouse, portable gristmill, horse-drawn farm equipment, and other reminders of a time when nearly everything a family needed was produced by their own hands.

The front cabin, dating to the 1890s, was relocated from near Vansant in Buchanan County, Virginia, while the rear cabin, built around 1860, came from the Brumley Gap area of Washington County, Virginia. The blacksmith shop and baking oven were constructed using hand-hewn timbers and handmade bricks salvaged from an 1850s home in Russell County, Virginia.

Encircled by a split-rail fence crafted from American chestnut, the Yeary Cabin stands as a tribute to the resilience, resourcefulness, and enduring spirit of Appalachian life.📍SWVA

06/06/2026

Found along the backroads of
📍SWVA

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Bristol, VA

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