Elkmont, A Smoky Mountain Ghost Town
The area of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park known as Elkmont was once a thriving vacation and retreat area for people from Knoxville. At one time there was a 50-room hotel and about 75 houses and cabins in the area. Little River Lumber Company owned much of what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They started to sell private plots to individuals in 1910. By 1926 the national park movement was underway. It was aided in part by the wealthy folks who had cabins in Elkmont. They made an early deal with the park authorities; they would sell their land at half price in exchange for lifetime leases. This allowed the park to acquire land at reasonable prices and avoid expenses court cases. So several hundred families kept their summer homes in the mountains with some limitations. By 1952 the lifetime leases changed to 20-year leases, which were renewed in 1972. In 1992 the park service refused to extend the leases any further.
At this time the park forced people to give up their cabins. The plan was to tear down all the structures in the Elkmont area and let nature reclaim it. However much of Elkmont was placed on the National Historic Register in 1994. This slowed the process of condemnation and destruction. However, by 2010 many of the cabins were falling down and unsafe. To the Parks credit, they created a plan to tear down the cabins in the worst shape and to try to restore some of the other places. The Appalachian club House has been fully restored and is available for rent. About half of the remaining cabins have been torn down. Most of those in what was known as the Daisy Town section of Elkmont is still standing. Most are in disrepair but the park service is trying to protect them so they don’t fall into further disrepair.
I will be leading the workshop through Visionary Wild Workshops in the Great Smoky Mountains with Charles Cramer in April of 2019. I am hoping to visit Elkmont again.
Elkmont Kitchen
Looking across the Main Street of Elkmont
Backdoor and screen in Elkmont