The spacious natural shelter below Auger Falls on Hog Scald creek attracted these settlers as a suitable place to hold religious services. Here was an auditorium on one side of the stream with pulpit of rock for the minister, and choir stalls for the singers, in a convenient shelter opposite.
Between audience and minister was the immersion pool where the rites of baptism could be administered without leaving the sanctuary. The drone of falling water from Auger Falls was just loud enough to be the grand piano divine, never out of tune, always doing its part to make the service effective. When the minister prayed, these musical waters seemed to echo, “Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye and buy and eat—without money and without price.”
In later years Hog Scald became an active community center. It was a meeting place of the settlers for such activities as butchering hogs, canning wild fruits and making sorghum molasses. The idea originated during the Civil War when the entire valley was a Confederate camp. The inviting springs and cozy shelters made it an ideal camp site. The shut-ins at the elbow of the falls now called Fern Dell offered opportunity to hem in herds of wild hogs and kill them in a cove convenient to the butchering grounds.
Hog Scald creek secured its name from the practice of soldiers in scalding the wild hogs in the kettle-like holes in the rocky creek bed. The water was diverted from its regular course into these holes, which are four or five feet deep and averaging six feet in width. The method of heating the water to the scalding point was done by dropping hot stones into the pits. The hogs were then immersed in the hot water until their hides were soaked sufficiently for the removal of the hair with a knife.
When the war ended, natives of the community continued this practice and enlarged upon it. Families would drive many miles through the hills to camp at Hog Scald, butchering hogs, canning wild fruits, and enjoying a few days of social contact. And always there was church on Sunday. The young folks might play party games on the rocks Saturday night, but the fun ceased at midnight. Sunday was set aside for the good things of the soul.