The settlement of Little River became known as Elkmont when the loggers came to the ‘Middle Prong’ area of the Great Smoky Mountains in 1908. Just as they changed the name, in the next 16 years they changed the landscape of the area by cutting most of the timber far up into the peaks and valleys.
Visitors eventually built residences when the train tracks were removed and replaced by roadbed suitable for automobile travel around 1925. Folks from Maryville and Knoxville and elsewhere loved the area and built cabins which they and their descendants owned until the leases granted by the National Park Service finally expired.
The Wonderland Hotel (where in earlier years both Rock Sprite Kitty Myers and Honey Badger Thomas Mabry stayed) was demolished in the early 1990s. The stairs on the roof were particularly fascinating for Kitty.
Honey Badger remembers tubing in the ‘Middle Prong’ some 60 years ago. Some of historic Elkmont near the river has been thankfully preserved by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The cabin where Kitty is standing was built for the grandchildren of the owner of the larger cabin on the tract. Despite being small in stature, the character of the dwelling stands out among the others with the rock wall and pleasant surroundings.
A picture-perfect setting? You bet! Elkmont is a unique enclave in the midst of the GS National Park. A picture still tells 1,000 stories.
Thomas Mabry – Honey Badger Images
Many of the HoneyBadgerImages are on display at instagram.com/honeybadgerimages
