American Travel Journal: Abandoned Buildings of the Elkmont Historic District

Elkmont is located in the Little River and Jakes Creek valleys on the Tennessee side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A pioneer community in the 1840s, it became a logging town in the early 1900s, and a resort community for the affluent in the 1910s. When the National Park was established in 1934, many of the resort cottage owners were given lifetime leases. The leases were converted to 20 year leases in 1952 and renewed in 1972. In 1992, most of the leases expired and the park announced plans to remove the Wonderland Hotel and all the cottages. Before the park service could act, the hotel and many of the cottages were listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Elkmont Historic District, Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Over the next 15 years, various stakeholders vigorously debated the future of the historic structures. During that time, the Wonderland Hotel collapsed due to structural failure likely due to rainwater leaking into the building. The park service has restored the Appalachian Clubhouse and has plans to restore over a dozen of the most significant structures as funding allows. In the interim, the lack of maintenance is obvious and signs have been posted warning visitors not to enter the buildings. Below are pictures from late April 2016 of some of the structures built along Jakes Creek.