Our History

The Kennamer Cove Trading Post is a family owned and operated business located 1,000 feet north of the Cathedral Caverns State Park entrance. The building is 9,400 square feet in area. Within the Trading Post is a deli, a 1,200 square foot banquet room that seats 100 people (which can be rented for special occasions), and an indoor waterfall with an original grist mill and whiskey still from the area. A wildlife collection is also on display, including most of the North American game animals. Historical photographs of Cathedral Caverns, families of the early Kennamer Cove, and early schools of the area are displayed. There is a bragging corner situated in front of a fireplace for those who want to sit and brag or just listen as they eat their ice cream. Local craftsmen and artists have their wares displayed for sale over approximately 4,000 square feet of the building.

The building was built with different types of wood taken from this area. There are 25,000 board feet of poplar, 7,000 feet of cedar, 2,000 feet of pine, 500 feet of maple and 500 feet of walnut in the building . This does not include any plywood, siding or exterior framing material.

Construction on the building began in October of 1997. The steel portion of the building was erected in December of 1997. An architect was hired to design the steel framing and footings for the structural strength of the building. I sketched the outside and inside details of the Trading Post on a 6” x 9” piece of steno pad paper. I began the woodwork in January of 1998. Rough sawed poplar was the major material that I used within the building. Six inch by eight inch beams were used for the interior roof lines and the balcony area upstairs for strength. I had some of the poplar kiln dried for the 1,400 square foot area upstairs floor.

As spring and summer came around, I was not able to spend much time on the project that I had started,because this was my busiest time in my profession. I do masonry work (Decorative Masonry) for a living and my time had to concentrate more on my business instead of the Trading Post.

Throughout the year, I would spend a day here and there working on the building. I had my father begin to cut the cedar trees from the mountains of my property that would be sawed for the project. My son (who works for me in the masonry business) was also part of this ongoing project on off-days, rainy and cold days. I know that Chris has spend over 3,000 hours on this project over the past five years.

I do not know how many hours my father has spend cutting cedar logs and hauling them out. I know it was more than 800 hours. He cut cedar for the building over a period of three summers. Some of the cedar was cut and the bark peeled to create a smooth log for the interior of the building. We tried to peel these in the summer, but the bark was too dry to remove it. We had to wait until the following spring when the sap was still in the bark.

The banquet room is 35 feet wide. I needed 19 foot long beams for the ceiling in this room. A saw mill only cuts 16 feet in length. To overcome this, I had a portable saw mill brought on site to cut the beams. We built trusses with these four inch by ten inch poplar beams. They were connected with steel plates and 3/4 inch bolts. Their span was 35 feet and weighed approximately 700 pounds each. They were built on the floor and then lifted into place with an electric scissor lift.

Little by little and piece by piece, the Trading Post has taken a shape that is even greater than I first envisioned. I guess that is why it has taken so long. Since the only blueprints for the building were in my imagination, I would complete one project, and then focus on another project. With each different project, I would always try to make it special or different.

The Trading Post has really been a challenge from the beginning. The original plans changed as I went along, and new ideas developed. This would mean changes in every aspect of the building’s original design. Some changes were made due to mistakes, others from just a change of mind. I cut no corners…this is a well-built building. It is built to stand the test of time.

Within the banquet room, there are two panoramic murals, each measuring six feet tall and 20 feet long. I asked Debbie McBride, who is the Art Instructor at Kate Duncan Smith D.A.R. ( Daughters of the American Revolution) School, if she would be interstested in painting murals at the Trading Post. She excitedly said that she would love to do them. This was before she had seen the size of the project. She came to look at the proposed project. I know that she had no idea of the size of these murals, yet I hoped she would still be willing to do them. As Debbie and her husband, Gary, stood there looking at the huge, blank sheetrock spaces, I could see Debbie’s mind racing as it was already trying to put a painting onto the walls. She smiled and said that she would be glad to do them. Debbie asked me what I wanted on the murals. I said, “You’re the artist, it’s all up to you”. She immediately studied the mural locations and said, “ I think I would like to show early life in this area through the four seasons”. I told her, “It’s all yours!”

Within the next weeks, as she began painting the murals, I could not believe my eyes. She did not come in and hurriedly paint a scene on the wall, but instead she painstakenly created an extremely detailed depiction of the early settlers in this area. It was far more than I could ever have asked for. Her love for art, and commitment to this huge project, is evident through every brushstroke. I am truly indebted to her.

There are over 1,400 square feet of stone used on columns and on the walls. Many people who have visited have asked about the nine-foot wooden cross, which is embedded in stone, twenty feet above the wall above the entrance of the Trading Post. I explain that the wood is oak and was taken off a 100 year-old family barn from this area. I tore this barn down 23 years ago, and reused it in the building of a barn at my home. You might say that it was recycled. These fourteen inch oak boards were so beautifully weathered. I put them in storage, knowing that I would find a use for them some day. Little did I know that 23 years later, this wood that once belonged to my ancestors, would become an old, rugged cross that would grace the entrance and welcome each visitor to the Trading Post.

Many things throughout the building are natures own, untouched beauty. Such as, the trees and rocks at the waterfall, as well as the knotted legs of the fireplace mantle. Many who have visited the Trading Post say that the cedar panels upstairs in the balcony area are their favorite. The panels are literally cedar trees that were sawed into slices leaving the bark and the natural edges and curves of the wood and attached to the wall.

Almost everyone that comes in immediately notices the aroma of the wood in the building. Many comment about how they have watched the progression of the building as they passed by daily on their way to work. They wondered and imagined what the inside was like, based on the appearance of the outside. But, upon seeing the inside, they all admit that they never dreamed it would be anything like this. Most everyone marvels at all the wood and detail. Those that do carpentry work and know exactly what is involved, say, “Man, that’s a lot of work”. Many ask, “Where did you see this, or how did you come up with that?” Several people have asked me what the most difficult part of the project (referring to a specific area). One person stated that she has not figured out “The Word” that would describe it. Many words came to her mind, but none do it justice. She is working on “The Word”.

A few people have said that the building reminded them of a movie, Field of Dreams. They express how this beautiful building is sitting here, in the middle of nowhere. I smile, shake my head, and say, “If you build it, they will come”.

In the fall of 1996, when the State of Alabama was really building up Cathedral Caverns, it hit me like a sledge hammer. I knew I had to build a building that would attract people. I did not know every exact detail, but I did have a rough sketch in my mind of all the different things that would be so unique as to draw people in just to look at it.

From the beginning (sledgehammer), I have always felt that God had opened this opportunity to me. From the beginning (sledgehammer), I knew that if I could build what I had visualized, it would hopefully be a successful venture. It was as if this burning desire within me could only be quenched by the completion of this attraction for all to see.

The hardest part of the building was not structural. All of the detail came easily to me. It was an enjoyable adventure. In fact, as I would be working on one phase, in my mind I would be working out the details of the next project, as well as the overall project. The most difficult part of this project is tying it all together for a smooth transition from one area to the next. It was up to me to make “it” happen.

It was a two-man team. I came up with the idea, figured out how to accomplish it, and my son and I physically completed each task. This had to be done while also working a full time job. It has not been easy. Over the course of these five years, I found myself in so many difficulties and uncertainties. Even though there was no doubt about my conviction to begin this project, there were constant obstacles and hurdles that I had to overcome. So many times I could not see “the light at the end of the tunnel”. All I had to draw from is found in Proverbs 3:5-6.

5: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6: In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

It was up to me to finish the task. I cannot tell you how many tears and time I have spent on my knees (besides finishing the floors). I believe this endeavor has served more than one purpose. It will serve my initial purpose of providing an opportunity for my daughters to work for themselves. I also hope that it will provide my parents the opportunity to relax on the front porch of the Trading Post and share their knowledge of the history of the area with others. They were here when the history portrayed inside the Trading Post was being played out. That history should be preserved, passed down, and shared with all.

I am proud to have undertaken this project, if for no other reason, than to give my son the opportunity to learn about building. We did everything; electrical, insulating, plumbing, framing, trim-work, painting, installing ceilings, stone and tile work. What more could a father ask than to be able to offer this to his son?

I am humbled that the Lord would give me such a blessed gift when there are other people that are far more deserving. I believe that these last five years were just another lesson of life from above. That lesson has strengthened my patience and faith in myself, my fellow man, and my Lord.

It is a tremendous weight lifted from my shoulders to finish the Trading Post. I think I might take a Saturday off and rest a while.

P.S. OH! I forgot, I might even finish the gazebo that I was working on when I started the Trading Post.