The vacant buildings in Elkmont were once part of the Appalachian Club vacation community, which grew beside the former logging town of Elkmont after the Little River Lumber Company sold land to individuals to create a private social club. What began as a gentlemen's hunting club soon developed into a place where affluent Knoxville families escaped oppressive urban summers, while the present-day campground occupies the site of the original town. When Tennessee and North Carolina acquired property for the creation of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the 1920s and 30s, most mountain farms and homes were purchased outright and residents had to leave when the property transferred, but club town residents negotiated lower payments in exchange for lifetime leases. Those leases expired for all but two properties in 1992, and the last two ended in 2001. The park's 1982 General Management Plan called for all structures to be removed after the leases expired and for the area to be returned to a natural state. In 1994, Elkmont was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district, giving it special status, and an Environmental Impact Statement has been used to determine the district's future management.