Before Elkmont became a tourist destination and eventually a ghost town, it was home to Levi Trentham, a mountain landowner, businessman, hunter, guide, and unofficial mayor.
As railroads, lumber companies, wealthy tourists, and then the Great Smoky Mountains National Park transformed the Smokies, Levi watched the world he knew disappear. He also fought against the stereotypes outsiders used to portray Appalachian people, insisting that the people he knew were intelligent, capable, and independent.
This is the story of Levi Trentham and the changing world of Elkmont.
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