recordings of miners and their families talking about their experiences of daily life at the mines.
On the way back up the mountain to the train depot – where the coal company’ s main office and stores were – visitors get to pass many preserved and restored buildings of the old coal town, including doctors’ and dentists’ offices, general stores, old cabin residences, a church or two, and old supply houses.
In addition, the feeling of the mountain forest breeze flowing through the train brings a refreshing feel to the whole trip.
Back at the train depot at Historic Stearns, a. k. a. Big South Fork Scenic Railway, visitors will have the opportunity to visit The Artisan Shop.
According to Debbie Kidd-Trammell, an Advisory Committee Member of the McCreary County Heritage Foundation, The Artisan Shop features the handicraft of many regional highly skilled artisans from McCreary County and surrounding Kentucky and Tennessee counties.
“ We have crochet, knitting, basket weavers, woodworkers, coal art, photographers, candy makers, textiles, blankets and much more,” said Kidd-Trammell.“ We have very gifted artisans.” She added that the Big South Fork Scenic Railway and its activities and adjacent attractions wouldn’ t be possible without the two dozen or so consistent core volunteers and the additional hundreds of seasonal volunteers over a year’ s time.
“ I’ m just so impressed with the friends and volunteers,” said Kidd-Trammell.
One of those adjacent attractions is the McCreary County Museum, a treasure trove of memorabilia and artifacts spanning the 19th and 20th centuries, including from the Stearns Coal and Lumber Company days, McCreary County history, the Great Depression, two World Wars, and a great deal of Americana.
Visitors can see a genuine old moonshine still, an old bank vault, old photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s, an old horse-drawn carriage, many daily-life artifacts of early Americans, and a whole lot more.
Historic Stearns and Big South Fork Scenic Railway aren’ t
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An antique horse-drawn carriage is one of hundreds of fascinating items on display at the McCreary County Museum near the Big South Fork Scenic Railway.
Shavana Morgan photo
Stay & Play Lake Cumberland Region- Summer 2025 35