This week’s Polk County News includes The Tennessee Overhill Experience, the second of three tourism tabloids we publish yearly to help the local economy. While outdoor recreation is the main draw for many, this tabloid focuses on the heritage in Polk, McMinn and Monroe counties. With gas prices strangling budgets and keeping families from long trips, it good to know that there are things to do close to home and places for visitors to see that could extend their stay.

These three Southeast Tennessee counties share a common heritage and together form a living outdoor museum that takes visitors from the earliest days of the Cherokee to the growth of copper mining, railroading, textiles, power production and more. Thanks to community organizations, there are museums to help tell the stories; thanks to caring propertyowners, there are structures that still retain a sense of the past. Along the way are farms, churches, and landscapes to enhance the experience.

The Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association began a regional heritage tourism program in 1990 and has become a model for similar programs elsewhere as both regional promotion and heritage tourism become increasingly popular. There aren’t many rural areas that can serve as attractions by themselves, so it makes sense to ignore county lines and encourage visitation to a region where there are lots of things to see and do.

Another significant aspect of the heritage tourism program is the opportunity to encourage a sense of pride in our communities. Those who think that history is told only through mansions and “important” buildings are ignoring the fact that America is great because of the “everyday” men and woman who worked the soil, the mines, or the textile mills. Pioneer homes, early business structures, rock walls and industrial remnants all tell the story of our growth and development. Those who think that great art is confined to museums and symphony halls are ignoring the fact that basketmaking and other home crafts, as well as bluegrass and knifemaking, are also part of culture.

Our area of the Southern Appalachians is full of history and we all have reason to be proud. We hope you enjoy this year’s version of the Tennessee Overhill Experience and we encourage you to look around. You’ll be amazed at the historic structures in every neighborhood.

We invite you to share the stories of the buildings in your communities as we expand the breadth of our museum without walls.