“I simply brought a nice camera along to document it!” Photographer explores abandoned town in Tennessee

TENNESSEE (WITI) — People once lived in a vibrant little town at the end of a long, unnamed gravel road inside the Great Smoky Mountains.

There are houses, some more than 100 years old, a fountain — even a hotel in what was called the “Wonderland Club.” The hotel was built to house visitors traveling up the mountains and became a private club. Members of the club eventually also built summer homes there.

Today, the entire town is abandoned, the structures eerily empty and dark.



Photographer Jordan Liles discovered the neighborhood. He made a video and took several photos documenting his exploration of the once-bustling area and all its hidden treasures, beginning with the long empty road.

Watch his video below, and view his photographs in the gallery above.



The town is located about one mile inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Liles said the town is there for the public to see, and people have been there before.

He said in his video that the club closed in 1992, and the last lease expired in 2001.

To access Liles’ website and blog, click here.