Historic Elkmont Great Smoky Mountains

Back in the early 1900s, Elkmont was a small logging town located in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains, near Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Later on when the area became a national park, Elkmont was transformed into a haven and retreat for many local people, and many cabins sprang up there - summer homes for people who could afford it. Elkmont is divided roughly into 3 sections - Daisytown, Society Hill, and Millionaire's Row. Daisytown is the main section of cabins that the road leads through the middle of, Society Hill is the section of cabins near what is now the Jake's Creek Trailhead, and Millionaires Row is the section of cabins along the sides of the Little River Trail. All the tenant's leases have expired on these cabins, and everyone was forced to leave, so the cabins all stand vacant now. This was a deal forged back in the days when the area became a national park. The park service even extended many of the leases as well, but the last one ran out a few years ago. At some point, a final decison is supposed to be reached about the fate of these buildings. Some of the cabins seem to have historic significance, but certainly these buildings are not like the cabins you would find in Cades Cove - the cabins in Elkmont are much more recent. There was also a hotel near here, the Wonderland Hotel, but it fell down many years ago, and virtually nothing remains of it today. All of these summer cabins we see today at Elkmont may end up the same way.

For pictures of the hiking trails, creeks, and waterfalls around the Elkmont area, please visit my Elkmont Great Smoky Mountains Gallery.