LEVI TRENTHAM, THE PROPHET OF THE SMOKIES

 Via Herman Svensson

One of the early mountaineers you can learn about in our museum is Levi Trentham, who was called “the Prophet of the Smokies” and the “Mayor of Elkmont.” In his early days, Levi eked out an existence trapping bears and selling their hides. When tourists began invading the mountains, Levi cashed in by becoming a guide and one of the Smokies’ most popular storytellers. His renown as a racanteur got him invited to the dedication of Knoxville’s Henley Bridge. He arrived at the festivities, as the advertised representative of the “sprit of the Smokies,” in an oxcart.

According to Bill Hooks, the author of Whistle Over the Mountain, the classic book on the Little River Railroad & Lumber Company, Mr. Trentham established his own grocery store later in life. Being illiterate, he devised a unique way to run his store. He created an accounting system by hammering nails into the walls of his store for each of his customers. Each time a customer purchased an item on credit, Levi would draw a picture of the item purchased and stick it on the customer’s nail. However, this occasionally led to some humorous mix-ups.

For instance, a customer charged into the store one day accusing Levi of cheating him. He’d been in earlier to pay off his account and claimed Levi had charged him for something he never bought. Levi asked, “What be it?” The customer answered, “Well, you charged me for a wheel of cheese and I ain’t bought no wheel of cheese.” Levi then inquired, “Well, what did you buy?” “I bought a grindstone!” “Well,” Levi explained, “I just forgot to draw the hole in your grindstone, and that’s why I charged you for cheese.”

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