Tucked away beneath the towering oaks and pines in the lush woods of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 100-year-old cabins dot a once-abandoned resort town known as Elkmont.
I visited in the spring of 2023 and was amazed to find that the cabins preserved and restored by the National Park Service were open for public viewing.
When I made plans to visit the historic district, I pictured myself wandering outside cabins and looking in the windows. I had no idea I’d be able to step inside them for a more intimate look at what life was like 100 years ago.
Elkmont Historic District is in a valley on the northern border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
I took a taxi to the resort town. Drivers can take the US-411 from Gatlinburg and turn at the “Elkmont Campground” sign, according to Visit My Smokies, a tourism site run by Sevier County. From there, take a left at the sign that says “Elkmont Nature Trail.”
I began my trip to Elkmont by reading about its history.
According to the site’s historical markers provided by the NPS, the land was used for farming in the 1800s. Then, in the 20th century, a railroad was built, bringing loggers and tourists to the area. This led to the establishment of a resort town known as Daisy Town.
About 100 years ago, it was a place where wealthy Tennesseans escaped hot summers in cities and found “harmony with nature,” according to the NPS.
Families took the train to Daisy Town and spent their summers relaxing on the porches of their vacation homes and playing outdoors, one NPS marker said.
When the National Park Service bought the land in 1934, the resort town diminished.
Residents had the option of selling their cabins for full price or at half price with a lifetime lease, according to Visit My Smokies.
By the late 20th century, the once-booming vacation community was a ghost town.
In 1992, the NPS stopped renewing leases, and the abandoned cabins began to deteriorate.
In 2009, the NPS announced plans to preserve Elkmont’s historic buildings.
Volunteers removed trees, repaired roofs and ceilings, and added insulation to the cabins, Knox News reported.
During my visit, I went inside every cabin.
I stepped inside all 16 cabins lining the pedestrian street.
The oldest of the bunch was built in 1830 and then moved in 1932 to serve as a guest house in the resort community, according to the NPS.
The one-story building stood out to me because it looked older than the rest, with a distressed, unpainted wooden facade.
Inside was a single, large room with nothing but a stone fireplace.
I thought the weathered, empty home felt eerie.
In fact, none of the cabins were furnished.
Still, I thought details like built-in kitchen counters and cabinets gave them a sense of a past life.
Looking out the windows of these historic cabins, I thought about what it would have been like to vacation here a century ago.
I pictured a shaded summer, waking up to natural views, and stepping outside to enjoy a cup of coffee with no agenda. It seemed like an ideal getaway for city dwellers like me.
On my way out of Elkmont, I spotted families wandering the street. This made me think that the site is no longer the ghost town it once was.
I left Elkmont with a sense of what the once-abandoned resort community was like and felt grateful to the preservation crew for making it possible for me to visit.
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