Elkmont town formerly known as the Appalachian club is a small town located in Sevier County in Tennessee, USA. It is a former logging town and resort community established in the early 1900s by the Little River Lumber company as a base for mining operations which is now a camping ground, ranger station, and historic district.

History of Elkmont

The Elkmont region was first settled in the 1840s by a community known as ‘’Little River’’. They got the name ‘’Little River’’ because of its location in the upper Little River Valley. Colonel Wilson B Townsend purchased 86,000 acres of the land along the river to start the Little River Lumber company. He constructed a railroad that connected the riverside logging site to his company’s sawmill in Tuckaleechee Cove.

The railway contributed to turning the town into a top vacation and camping site for many. People heard of the town by the river and started taking the train to go see the place. Wealthy families from Knoxville got an interest in the place and started going to Elkmont for a weekend getaway. Soon they (rich families) loved the place and this prompted them to buy the area and set up their resort community where they could go and relax after a busy day or week of work from the big cities.

What happened to the once cherished town?

Years after the establishment of the community, the Elkmont region was turned into a national park. The residents who bought land and built homes and other amenities were only left with two choices. They would sell their homes at full price and relocate right away or sell it at a discount price and get to live in their homes for the remainder of their lifetime. In 1992, 58 years later leases signed by residents expired forcing them to relocate leaving 70 plus buildings to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Since the building was too many for the national park to maintain, they deteriorated with time.

How is Elkmont today?

After years of being inhabited, the building further deteriorated forcing the national park to demolish most of them. Although most were put down, Great Smoky mountain national park decided to preserve 19 of the buildings which were still in better shape to preserve the history of the once existing town. Today, visitors are allowed to take tours and see for themselves the historic structures.