Following the trail to abandoned cabins and forgotten history in the Smokies
There is an alternate history of how things might have been different if the National Park had not been created. In the decades before the park, there were a variety of groups that changed the future of the park. Logging companies – to the chagrin of naturalists campaigning to preserve the wonders of the Smokies – were accessing large swaths of landing, felling trees by the dozens.
To illustrate the impact of loggers, the course of the Little River was changed when some enterprising lumberjacks sought to end a logjam with dynamite and overestimated the amount necessary. Their mistake formed The Sinks, a somewhat infamous series of waterfalls in the Elkmont Community.
But loggers weren’t the only groups changing the mountains. The affluent were drawn to the area as well. This included people like Cincinnati inventor Louis Voorhies, who came to the mountains to build his own Shangri-la. There is also the story of Daisy Town, home to the historic Appalachian Club. It was chartered in the early 1900s by well-to-do men from Knoxville. The hunting and fishing camp quickly became a place where Knoxville’s prominent figures built their vacation homes along Jakes Creek.
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The town of Elkmont
It all added up to the thriving town of Elkmont, which today is the largest campground in the National Park. In 1918, it was something very different. Sevier County’s second-largest city was home to 1500 residents, many of whom worked for the logging companies. By the time of the National Park, the loggers had moved on to Tremont.
Today, it remains an interesting alternative history of what would have become of Elkmont if the National Park had never come to fruition. Many people know about the Elkmont Nature Trail and the community of cabins that have been preserved and are available for rent through the National Park Service. But what if I told you that there’s a 5.4 loop through the Elkmont forest that shows both how extensive development has become? It also allows you to explore the foundations that remain.
What is the trail?
The trail is called the Jakes Creek Loop by some and the Little River Trail Loop by others. The shady 5.4-mile loop connects three trails with beautiful stream views, historic structures, and – in the spring – picturesque wildflower displays. The loop can be taken clockwise or counterclockwise. Moving clockwise, you’d start on the Little River section, which is fairly wide and flat. You can take that to the Cucumber Gap Trail, which is narrow with several ups and downs as it moves along the Huskey Branch and crosses the Tulip Branch before connecting with the Jakes Creek Trail. The Jakes Creek Trail is slightly wider and flatter but a bit steeper. The Jakes Creek Trailhead isn’t very far from the Little River Trailhead.
The abandoned structures, the effort to rebuild
On the Jakes Creek Trail, you’ll go through some of the Elkmont Ghost Town remains. You’ll pass tall stone chimneys as well as an old bridge. There’s also the Mayna Avent Cabin. It is one of several historic Elkmont structures that have been preserved and or renovated by the National Park Service.
If you start at the other end, on the Little River Trail, you will be near the Spence Cabin River Lodge. It is a “whimsical” pink cottage. The park service bills it as a fun and unique venue for weddings, family gatherings corporate meetings. The cottage was built in 1928. It once served as the vacation home of Col. and Alice Townsend, the owners of the Little River Lumber Company and Little River Railroad. Fully restored, the lodge is available for day rentals only.
It’s important to note that while the ownership of the cabins was transferred, the owners were given leases. First lifetime leases, most of the Appalachian Club members agreed to convert them to 20-year leases which were renewed in 1952 and 1972. In 1992, the leases ended under political pressure from environmental groups. The original plan was to remove the structures and allow the mountains to reclaim them. However, in 1994, the Wonderland Hotel and other structures were granted a place on the National Register of Historic Places, giving them some level of protection.
The Wonderland Hotel collapsed in 2005. At that time, a plan was put in place to restore the Appalachian Clubhouse and 18 cabins nearby. The remaining structures were documented and removed, but their chimneys and foundations remained.
How to find it
Elkmont itself is easy to find. The biggest and one of the most popular campgrounds in the park, you can turn right at the Townsend Wye – if using the Townsend entrance – and follow the signs to Elkmont. The trailheads for the Elkmont Nature Trail, the Little River Trail and the Jakes Creek Trail are well-marked.
If you don’t want to do the full loop, the Jakes Creek Trail will quickly carry you past more historic structures.
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