I love how you are teaching the kids about SO many things! They are going to remember these days forever.

Rocky ground, it's easier to stilt the house then to level the ground.

Concrete blocks have twofold uses....level the building....but probably more important....keep the wood out of contact with the ground which has termites in it.

Skeeter Snell asked why it went "ghost town." The answer is we were kicked out by the park. We fought for years to keep our beloved community. I can't go back without crying. I've only been three times since it happened. But whenever I see videos or pictures taken by people I have this irresistible urge to look for our cabin.

@grandmap3389

7 жыл бұрын

Claire Brandau which cabin was yours, we just left that area in April, and I went in every cabin I could, I felt if the government could steal it, I could at least honor the people who had lived there by praying in their home. I told my daughter this is what our government will do to a place they deem valuable and we never really own nothing in this country, valuable lesson to her at 37yrs old, she never new our gov did things like this. I cried walking thru.

@tlctammie1884

6 жыл бұрын

park took over some land in my neck of TN & people lost their homes too.... crying same the gov is such big thief's!!!! so many people hurt, broken hearted, and never at home any where but their beloved mountains... Sorry your family suffered through it too, same anyone should have to go through that.... *HUGS*

I can't believe the foot traffic! Well, maybe I should. It's been almost 20 years since I've been to Elkmont. Two houses were still inhabited. Thanks for taking me back!

Just tootling across KZread and found your video. Very cool! Thanks for the tour.

The buildings are on bricks because of the hill the water will just sit on the bottom. They don't want there house to get flooded. Also so the wood won't ware out fast.

@davidspassage

9 жыл бұрын

Matthew L Thanks :-)

To answer skeeter...it went ghost town because of the parks creation in the 1930s. But it wasn't abandoned immediately, the families that owned the structures signed contracts with the Feds that allowed them to utilize for so many years after the parks creation. With that said, the last "residence," loosely using the term since these were vacation homes for the Knoxville wealthy, was finally handed over to the park service in the late 1990s or early 2000s.

The house's are on blocks because of flash flooding, on the creek from big rain storms.

The concrete blocks were to even up the cabins and avoid runoff.

@carolvaught1483

9 жыл бұрын

They were also used to keep the cabins and homes off the ground in the summer for cooling.

@samanthapayne77

6 жыл бұрын

no, it's because it makes the homes level, lol

Thank you for sharing this video. I found it enjoyable, & inspiring. I’m in NE Tn. So we might make a day trip out of it.

They are probably on those blocks to make them level...

That moth was a Rosy Maple Moth. They're native to the eastern US, and feed mostly on maples. Well, the caterpillars do, the adult moth doesn't eat. You can tell by the antennae that was a female moth; male moths have much bushier antennae in order to detect pheromones.

Thnks for the video clear and pretty that place.

love seeing the kids excitement....how fantastic it would be to have the kids bring the camp back to working order. giving them the knowledge they can do anything!

Some buildings were put up on cinder blocks to prevent then from getting flooded out during the heavy storm seasons.

The cabin at 4:21 was called "The Wild Rose." When our parents were having parties at the Appalachian Club, we kids were left on our own and would wander all over the mountain unsupervised (it was awesome). I was a little older than Emily when we snuck up to the loft of The Wild Rose on one of those nights and discovered a case of those little airplane sized bottles of whiskey. They were so cute we just *had* to drink them. OMG we got so wasted! But we were safe there. Elkmont was a haven to us all.

@donaldziegler7531

8 жыл бұрын

+Claire Brandau :-)

@angelacreasman6277

6 жыл бұрын

Claire Brandau Claire is it near Guttenberg Tennessee is it near North Carolina why did they close it up Tennessee or North Carolina just some money on it the code

The house raised off the ground is called a pier and beam foundation. I live in one, my house was built around the turn of the century. Houses pre tract house (1940s) were constructed by hand and custom for each house. This made moving large amounts of concrete both expensive and time consuming and most builders opted for the cheaper less labor intensive peer and beam foundation method.

The reason the houses were built 'up' is due to the fault line in Tennessee. It was said that the elders thought the houses would 'shift' a bit easier if they were in stacks.

Great looking area!! Thanks for sharing!

That first area you are in was known as "The Boardwalk." We used to play kick the can there late at night, and I had a close encounter with a bear once when I was a kid.

@kwright0521

9 жыл бұрын

Claire Brandau Did you ever have any other encounters that you were asked not to talk about? Or hear any strange howls? (Sasquatch maybe). Serious question.

There was a hotel and more houses hidden in the woods also.

@davidspassage

10 жыл бұрын

Cool! I'll have to look for those next time!

@davidspassage

10 жыл бұрын

Cool! I'll have to look for those next time!

Looks like you had an enjoyable & educational experience with your group, David! It's good to see ya out enjoying Creation, bro!

Did you hear about the hiker that recently "discovered" a ghost town while hiking in Tennessee? The hiker had no knowledge of the story, nor claims he discovered it. The Huffington Post misled it's readers with the way it worded the article. Below is a video I published a week before the other video was published of the same place. The old site of Elkmont is definitely worth a visit and you can drive right up to it and hike around. kzread.info/dash/bejne/k5ailpWylafTlqg.html Also, here's a map if you are ever in that area bit.ly/Z5S6s2

@jordanliles

9 жыл бұрын

Hey, I love your video and the wolf spider is AWESOME! About my video, I'm sorry that the media decided to sensationalize everything about it. I'm also glad that there's a video that covers the row of historic homes as well as yours does. But man, that wolf spider!

@davidspassage

9 жыл бұрын

***** loved your video too! I can't imagine what it's like having your stuff twisted like that only so some "media" outlet can get some extra clicks out of the deal. Best of luck and I look foreword to more hiking videos of yours in the future :-)

@jordanliles

9 жыл бұрын

David's Passage It's a little bit frustrating for sure, so I have been online for the past 2-3 days replying to anyone I see who is upset. I want to make sure everyone knows I had the best of intentions and that media outlets aren't always your friend!

@joycereece5420

7 жыл бұрын

They mislead readers quite often lol

Looked pretty fun. The butterfly's were very pretty.

The "piles"...concrete blocks are to true up the buildings ie. to make them level, because they are built on a slope......

Very interesting Area. I'd love to go there some time.

Those butterflies are called Pipevine Swallowtails.

@missclaireee1

9 жыл бұрын

There's another species often seen hanging around these guys called Tiger Swallowtails. They're yellow with black stripes.

Very nice place!

Yeah, on the stilts idea, it's to keep them dry during heavy rains. To keep water from running in on the floors. At least, that's my hypothesis. Well that and in the mountains, the ground is very uneven, and raising footers in places is easier than leveling the area. Yes, wolf spider.

The building on stilts can be for a number of reasons ranging from keeping the building above the ground for possible flooding to making the building kind of level on an uneven building location.

General reason the blogs were built up was because of terrain of the ground and termites. That is why the old cabins throughout the park are built up according to some rangers. I also believe this would eliminate moisture buildup under the structure.

It could be from keeping the floor from rotting and animals out

please never remove any item from a national park. it's against the law. cool video.

That's a good point :-)

The buildings don't look like they were abandoned all that long ago!

I know it says "No Trespassing" on the buildings, but has anybody actually gone into them? I want to know if they are safe or not to walk through. I live in Tennessee. Probably less than an hour from this place. I would love to explore it and also go into the buildings. Is the place patrolled by rangers or whatever? I guess they are afraid the floors are unstable or something.

@davidspassage

9 жыл бұрын

Larry Williams Yes, I would definitely obey the signs. Some of the houses are very dilapidated.

@grandmap3389

7 жыл бұрын

I went in the building, I live in a home in MS from the same time period, most all the floors were sturdy, just like my home, you have to use a drill in the earlier section of my home to hang a photo, but the latter back half isn't that sturdy. You could tell the same in these homes. There were people working on buildings and painting. If you go inside you will see a lot of vagrants have been living at times in some of them, not on the main area but up the hill where they are really falling apart. There's one home that had a beautiful overgrown garden in front of it. If I was rich I'd travel the country looking for old forgotten or like this one "stolen" towns.

I believe that the cinder blockers are there to level the house since the land it is build on is not level.

P.S. those are toad stools, do not eat.

Elkmont was built for the rich. It was built when the area had a logging company in that area. Most houses where built up like that cause of the floods. In the 1800s all of that area flooded and killed alot of ppl.

those butterflies are black swallow tails not sure on the moth maybe looks like a luna moth

those houses where built by local people of the area then the U.S. GOV.forced the folks off there land and declared the land for the fed.park.

@davidspassage

9 жыл бұрын

highlifter2112 That's sad

People can still be buried in that cemetery you mentioned

@davidspassage

9 жыл бұрын

Claire Brandau Cool! It was a great place to visit.

@missclaireee1

8 жыл бұрын

They can but they have to be one of the immediate family of those who lived there back in the days before my family. Like when the logging camp was still there.

@missclaireee1

8 жыл бұрын

I'm glad you went! I've been leading tours off and on, and people often say they had never been even though they live in the area.

They also are because the land is real low and would make them sink

A couple of people have responded about a few of my comments but I can't find them! lol....anyway, The hotel mentioned was the Wonderland, and it was there that Wm Jennings Bryant (of Scopes Monkey Trial) passed away.

@JeanBrewer

9 жыл бұрын

It's got ALL COMMENTS 26, then under that I clicked on NEWEST FIRST. At the bottom of the page I'm seeing the replies I think your looking for Claire.

@davidspassage

9 жыл бұрын

Claire Brandau Thanks for the info. It's nice to know more background than what they sometimes provide on site.

@missclaireee1

9 жыл бұрын

It's probably because I'm stuck using my phone to get online at the moment. But I'm seeing what comes up through Google plus though. Yay!

@missclaireee1

9 жыл бұрын

I wish I could share a lot more behind why we were *really* booted out. Unfortunately I can't. But I can say there's much more to it.

@larrywilliams6413

9 жыл бұрын

Claire Brandau Why can't you say more about what happened at Elkmont? Did they make you sign a non-disclosure agreement? Such an act on their part would certainly justify the fact that even they knew what they did was wrong. Nobody should be kicked out of their homes and forced to leave some place just because they want to turn it into a National Park. They could have built the park AROUND the town and zoned the town off of it. They didn't have to go straight through. But...that's the greedy government and politicians for you. They don't care about anybody but themselves. But please share! I would love to know all their dirty secrets. I am thinking of going out there and seeing this place. I live an hour and 26 minutes away from it.

they should fix up all those old buildings and reopen the place,,,what a great place to enjoy nature and old cabins,,,,they shouldnt tear them down ,,,too much history would be lost,,,they need to preserve it and reopen it,,,call it natures way,,,awesome find

Calling them abandoned is extremely hurtful to the families. Wish you would change the title.