Elkmont Gets a Facelift

The Elkmont Historic District in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is getting a makeover, with work now underway to restore some buildings and demolish others. Eventually, 19 of the historic structures found there will be restored and 55 will be demolished. The current phase, however, focuses on restoring four and demolishing 29 buildings. 

“We’re preserving a unique piece of history through the preservation of 19 structures, and also restoring a unique natural community,” said Dana Soehn, spokeswoman for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “Elkmont has long been recognized as a special place. It tells the story of early logging and tourism, while at the same time it harbors a rare alluvial forest.”

Before the park was formed, Elkmont was a summer resort community for wealthy Knoxville families. After the park’s creation, the National Park Service granted leases for the families to keep their homes, but the last of these leases expired in 1992. The park has since seen the increasingly dilapidated buildings as a risk to visitor safety, but addressing the issue required funding. Park Service appropriations allowed the current project phase to move forward. 

Restoring the four buildings at the center of the current project will cost about $290,000 and demolishing 29 buildings will cost about $436,000. Funding has been secured to restore four more buildings starting in 2022 and two other buildings—Spence Cabin and the Appalachian Clubhouse—were completed prior to the current project. However, the goal is to ensure that the community’s legacy continues, even where buildings were removed. Features such as old chimneys and stone walls will remain to help tell the story of what once stood there. 

“People will be able to see that mark on the landscape of those old homes,” Soehn said.