A neat winter retreat

Southern Living, Jan 1999 by Stith, Mark G

The sign on the gated entrance leading to this special place reads "Monteagle Assembly." Your tires crunch on dirt and gravel as you creep slowly past pretty, old cottages clustered along narrow, curvy lanes. You're in for a generous dose of peace and quiet in Middle Tennessee, and you couldn't have chosen a better place.

Monteagle sits just off I-24, between Nashville and Chattanooga, perched high on wrinkled mountain ridges. It's a beautiful area, full of all kinds of natural wonders. But get settled first, and explore the grounds of the Monteagle Sunday School Assembly, where folks have congregated since the late 1800s. Two bedand-breakfast inns are here, the Adams Edgeworth and the North Gate Inn. Both are lovingly tended homes that fit in with the neighborhood.

It's hard to imagine a place with more atmosphere than the Adams Edgeworth (rooms cost $95-$175; [931] 924-4000). The Victorian-style house is wonderfully decorated, warm and inviting. You feel as if you could live here.

Equally charming, but with a totally different personality, is North Gate Inn (rooms cost $90-$ 110-no credit cards; [931] 924-2799). Owners Henry and Nancy Crais are the perfect hosts-there when you need them, otherwise invisible. Rooms are bright and cheerful too.

Go for a leisurely walk through the Assembly, which consists of some 162 mostly Victorian-style homes. Monteagle began as a religious retreat in 1882; early residents pitched tents near the Cabbage Patch area.

Most of the homes remain private residences. There's a theater, playground, walking trails, tennis courts, and swimming pool. The Chautauqua Style Assembly Program, held for eight weeks every summer beginning on Father's Day weekend, is an interdenominational conference offering spiritual and recreational opportunities; for information call the Assembly office at (931) 924-2286. You're welcome to attend any of the lectures (guests at the inns pay a $10 per person gate fee to cover admission).

The surrounding area has all sorts of entertaining activities. Visit the scenic campus of the University of the South at Sewanee, drop in at the Moravian Bakery and Cowan's Railroad Museum in Tracy City. For dinner, Jim Oliver's Smokehouse serves good, family-style meals; for fine, romantic dining, drive down U.S. 64/41A a mile or so to Pearl's Foggy Mountain Cafe.

Pack your hiking boots: Many natural wonders surround Monteagle. Make your first stop the South Cumberland Visitors Center. You can get maps, trail information, and directions to various sites, such as Foster Falls, Sewanee Natural Bridge, Wonder Cave, and one of the most colorfully named trails you'll ever encounter, Fiery Gizzard. You might want to join a group for a guided hike (both inns can put you in touch with guided tours). Or, you can simply do nothing at all except sit and let your frayed nerve endings heal. Either way, you really have come to the right place.