Looking around Cades Cove today, it seems like a world far removed from the technologies of modern life, but a closer look reveals evidence of modernization. The Dan Lawson house was originally constructed in 1856 using logs, but later additions were framed. Even later, the entire building was covered with siding. Viewing the house from the side offers a clear visual of these additions. The brick chimney, unusual for the time and locale, was built of bricks made on site. The small building closest to the house is a smokehouse; the other is a granary.

Dan Lawson was postmaster of the Cove for over 25 years, and for many years the post office was in the center room of this building. The small room on the front porch with an interior window might have been where people picked up their mail. Another idea is that this room functioned as an office during Dan Lawson’s time as Justice of the Peace. This room likely started as a “stranger room” (see Elijah Oliver Place) and then was converted to a new use.

Dan Lawson also operated a store and owned one of the largest tracts of land in Cades Cove. During the 1890s, Dan Lawson and other residents constructed a telephone line into Cades Cove. As a result, several homes in the Cove had telephones. Even residents without a telephone on their property could access the one at the Lawson store.

The typical story of Cades Cove is of pioneer life, but the last residents, the Caughrons, left in 1999. They had an agricultural lease and helped the park maintain the open fields of the cove. Their home was to the left of the Dan Lawson place. None of the structures they used remain, except the barn which they had moved from the Cable Mill area when it was threatened with demolition. Today, to the left of this barn, you can still see an old apple tree and a handful of lilies that were once part of their garden—a reminder that though Cades Cove has changed much over the years, some things remain the same.