The town of Elkmont, situated along the Little River in the Great Smoky Mountains, was once a booming lumber town and a frontier community. The property is now owned and protected by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Established in 1908, Elkmont was a base for The Little River Lumber Company’s logging operations. The Little River Rail Road was built to transport logs for the lumber company, but would also bring tourists to the area where the wealthy began building summer cottages.
The timber was harvested from the mountains and transported by railroad down the Little River to the mill at Townsend. Around 1910, the lumber company started selling the stripped land to individuals, mainly hunting and fishing enthusiasts, to create a private social club. The exclusive club was known as the “Appalachian Club.”
In 1912, The Wonderland Park Hotel, a 50-room resort lodge, was built nearby. Membership to the Appalachian Club was so exclusive that in 1919 a group of 10 Knoxville businessmen purchased the Wonderland Hotel and created their private club known as the “Wonderland Club.” At least ten cottages were constructed near the hotel. Over the next 20 years, the Appalachian Club and Wonderland Club evolved into a favorite vacation spot for wealthy Tennessee families to socialize and escape the summer heat.
In 1920, William P. Davis, a cottage owner at Elkmont, visited Yellowstone and wanted to have a national park in the Smoky Mountains. He teamed up with another Elkmont landowner, David. C. Chapman, to help advance his cause. Other Elkmont residents jumped on board and lobbied federal and state governments. The U.S. government agreed to establish the national park if Tennessee and North Carolina purchased the land.
In 1925, Chapman hosted a group of state legislators at Elkmont to help convince them of his plan. The following year the owner of the Little River Lumber Company made the initial sale to Tennessee of 76,000 acres to start the national park. While most everyone else within the park boundaries was forced to sell their homes and relocate, the Elkmont cottage owners were able to sell their cottages at half price in exchange for lifetime leases. These were converted to 20-year leases in 1952 and renewed again in 1972. The National Park Service refused to renew the contracts in 1992.
A 1982 park management plan called for the Wonderland Hotel and cottages to be demolished once the properties reverted to the National Park Service and allowed to return to nature. In 1994, to save Elkmont, the Wonderland Hotel and several cottages were placed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Elkmont Historic District. The addition to the NRHP sparked a 15-year debate over the fate of the ghost town.
In 2005, the Wonderland Hotel collapsed, and several homes around it were in such serious disrepair the National Park Service slated them for removal. In 2009, the NPS announced plans to restore the Appalachian Club and 18 other cottages that were historically significant.
With names like Millionaire’s Row and Society Hill, you get a sense of how luxurious these homes were, compared to the rustic cabins in the Smoky Mountains. Visitors are allowed to walk around Elkmont, but the public is not permitted to enter the cabins. Most are wide open, and you can see inside from the doorways and windows. The National Park Service recognizes Elkmont as a vital part of the region’s history.
Abandoned Southeast 
Neat stuff, thanks.
I read one time that land for Great Smoky Mountains Park was bought, to public/political displeasure based on overpaying “ market value”, for something like $5 per acre. Sometimes economic “market value” may not always represent societal value.
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Very cool!
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Amazing story and images! Thanks for posting it!
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Thanks!
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Nice. Interesting. Wonder if you could metal detect there?
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I wonder what will become of our current luxurious spaces in a century’s time? The story and photos are intriguing, thanks for sharing!
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Looks a fascinating place for a wander….and no people!
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This is so great! Really good pics
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I like your article, very inspiring and thank you for your post
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There are so many of these lovely, little hamlets scattered throughout America. America the beautiful, truly.
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Great post! We’re visiting the Great Smokies next year and are hoping to stay in Elmont Campground, so we’ll definitely make an effort to detour to the ghost town!
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Thanks! Go before the park destroys all the old cabins!
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Was just in Elmont last week and saw some renovations going on. Glad to see that. It is a beautiful spot, very interesting. Thanks for the article!
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I believe there is a small typo in the beginning of this. You have that it was established in the year 2908. Either a typo or you have been to the future and need to tell and show us more. lol…Great job on Abandoned Southeast!! Thank you for the hours of highly enjoyable, fascinating and truly interesting history you are giving us here!!
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Jennifer, I fixed the date. I haven’t quite got the time travel thing down yet! I appreciate you reading my blog. Tell a friend!
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What an interesting article!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it that I’ve read it 3 times to make sure I haven’t left anything out. I’m not a native of Tennessee so I’d like to
know how far Elkmont is from Knoxville so I can go there one day. I can’t wait to
visit the place. That’s one of the few places I’ve wanted to go in TN. I moved over
here from Memphis and Elvis’ place didn’t interest me a bit as I was in Memphis way before he bought it so didn’t bother to investigate it afterwards. Thanks for an
interesting bit of information.
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I live in Jacksonville, Florida and have done so since 1960. In the early 50’s though, my family lived in Knoxville. While there, I acquired the affinity I have for the Smokies and the Appalachians. In 1985 I acquired a mountain retreat home near Banner Elk, N.C. I am, what we in the hobby call, an Advanced Amateur photographer. I spend about 2 months each year up at the mountain house. Over the years, I have dedicated a lot of time shooting ( a photographers term ) old farm houses, barns and other structures throughout the Smokies and Southern Appalachians. I have literally hundreds and hundreds of photos I’ve taken that document these type of subjects. I have a life mission to record as many of these things as I can before time, neglect, or wood scavengers eliminate them from the scene. I am a participant in a major photographers forum where others who share my affliction also post their work. I am in the process of acquiring an additional mountain retreat in Elizabethton, TN. , hoping to expand my efforts a little bit northward. If anyone wants to check out the forum, please email me at my listed email address and I’ll give you the info on how to access our group. Actually, the sub-forum I’m active in is but a small section of the overall forum. Photographers of every discipline also participate. As we say to each other ” Good luck and good shooting “
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I’d like to join your forum. Abandonedsoutheast@gmail.com
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we stayed at Wonderland in the early eighties, it was charming but about to fall then, never forget the possums under the front porch
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I vacationed at the Wonderland Hotel in 1991 which turned out to be an unforgettable place and experience. We were informed at that time that it’s days were numbered so I mentally photographed the experience and can still recall it today. Great article, thank you.
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