Tennessee's abandoned landscape stretches from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Mississippi River — a state shaped by Civil War history, Appalachian coal mining, mid-century nuclear research, and the collapse of institutions that once defined entire communities. A mountain prison carved from coal-bearing rock. A Knoxville resort village abandoned inside a national park. A Manhattan Project ghost town displaced by the atomic bomb program. Here are 5 of the best abandoned places in Tennessee, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
Why Tennessee Is a Hidden Gem for Abandoned Buildings & Urban Exploration
Tennessee's urbex landscape is uniquely layered — Civil War infrastructure in the central counties, Appalachian coal country ruins in the east, WWII Manhattan Project ghost towns in the Oak Ridge corridor, and mid-century institutional buildings across Nashville and Memphis. The Great Smoky Mountains add a dimension found nowhere else in American urbex: an entire resort village abandoned inside a national park, slowly being consumed by the forest.
1. Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary – 1896 Coal Mining Prison Where James Earl Ray Was Held, Appalachian Mountain Setting, Petros (Known Location)
Hewn from the same Appalachian rock it forced its inmates to mine, Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary opened in 1896 in Morgan County, Tennessee — a maximum security prison where convicts extracted coal from underground tunnels directly beneath the prison yard as part of their sentence. The prison was escape-proof in design: surrounded by mountains, accessible only by the single mine railroad. James Earl Ray, convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr., broke out in 1977 and was recaptured 54 hours later just three miles away in the wilderness. The last convict executed at Brushy Mountain died in 1960. The prison closed in 2009. The original stone cell blocks, guard towers, coal mine entrance, and surrounding mountain landscape create one of the most dramatic and historically dense urbex environments in the American South. One of the most famous abandoned places in Tennessee.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary
2. Elkmont Ghost Town – 1910s Appalachian Resort Village Abandoned Since 1992, Cabins Frozen in Time Inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Known Location)
Founded when the Little River Lumber Company sold land to wealthy Knoxville families around 1910, Elkmont became an exclusive Appalachian summer resort — the Appalachian Clubhouse, dozens of private cottages, and a community that summered in the Smokies for three generations. When the National Park Service acquired the land in the 1930s, residents received long-term leases allowing them to keep using their cottages. The last leases expired in 1992. For the next 25 years, the cottages sat exactly as their last occupants left them — furniture in place, curtains in windows, personal belongings on shelves — as the Smoky Mountains forest pressed in on every wall. Some structures have since been stabilized for historical preservation; others continue to decay. One of the most unusual abandoned places in Tennessee — a ghost resort inside a national park.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
3. Wheat Ghost Town – 1940s Manhattan Project Displacement, Church and Cemetery Still Standing, Oak Ridge Corridor (Exclusively on Our Map)
When the US government secretly selected the Oak Ridge corridor in 1942 as the site for uranium enrichment facilities for the Manhattan Project, the farming community of Wheat was among those forcibly displaced — residents given weeks to evacuate their homes, farms, and community buildings as the area was cleared for the atomic bomb program. The George Jones Memorial Baptist Church and an old cemetery still stand today as silent witnesses to a community that was erased to build the bomb. One of the most historically significant and least-visited abandoned places in Tennessee — a ghost town created by the most consequential weapons program in human history. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
4. Abandoned Tennessee River Iron Furnace – 1840s Antebellum Stone Blast Furnace Still Standing on the River, Stewart County (Exclusively on Our Map)
An 1840s antebellum iron furnace on the Tennessee River — hand-cut stone construction from the era when the Cumberland Iron Works made Tennessee one of the leading iron producers in the antebellum South, the charging arch and stone taphole still intact and the surrounding forest slowly growing through the furnace walls. Tennessee's iron industry predates the Civil War and its furnaces were strategic targets during the conflict; this survivor is one of the most complete pre-war iron furnaces still standing in the state. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. Abandoned East Tennessee Tuberculosis Hospital – 1920s Hilltop Sanatorium with Original Ward Buildings Still Standing, Appalachian Ridge (Exclusively on Our Map)
A 1920s tuberculosis sanatorium built on an Appalachian ridge in East Tennessee — the standard therapeutic model of the era, which held that elevation, fresh air, and sunlight could arrest the progression of the disease. Original ward buildings in varying states of decay, the central administration building with period details intact, and the surrounding ridge providing the same panoramic views that TB patients once watched from their reclining chairs on open porches. Tennessee's TB sanatorium era produced numerous hilltop institutions that were simply abandoned when streptomycin made them obsolete in the 1950s-60s. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
Safety Tips for Urban Exploration in Tennessee
- Appalachian terrain: East Tennessee's mountain sites can be extremely isolated — always carry water, a map, and let someone know your exact location before exploring remote hollows or ridge-top sites.
- Humidity & mold: Tennessee's humid summers accelerate mold growth dramatically in enclosed structures — always wear an FFP2 mask in any abandoned building.
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and let someone know your location.
The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ – Abandoned Places in Tennessee
What is the most famous abandoned place in Tennessee?
Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros — an 1896 mountain prison where inmates mined coal beneath the prison yard. James Earl Ray, convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr., escaped here in 1977 and was recaptured 54 hours later. The prison closed in 2009 after 113 years of operation.
What is the Elkmont Ghost Town?
An Appalachian resort village inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park — built around 1910 by wealthy Knoxville families and abandoned in 1992 when the last NPS leases expired. The cottages sat untouched for 25 years with furniture and belongings still in place as the forest pressed in around them. Some structures have been stabilized for historical preservation.
What is the Wheat Ghost Town near Oak Ridge?
A farming community displaced in 1942 when the US government secretly commandeered the Oak Ridge corridor for uranium enrichment facilities for the Manhattan Project. Residents were given weeks to leave. The George Jones Memorial Baptist Church and the community cemetery still stand as the only visible remnants of a community erased by the atomic bomb program.
🎯 Summary
Tennessee's abandoned buildings span from an Appalachian coal-mining prison that held the man convicted of killing Martin Luther King Jr., to a resort village frozen inside a national park and a ghost town created by the Manhattan Project. Each of these 5 abandoned places in Tennessee captures a different layer of a state whose history runs from the Civil War to the atomic age in the span of a single mountain range.
Abandoned Places Map USA
- ✓ 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States
- ✓ Exclusive locations not found anywhere else
- ✓ Instant access after purchase
- ✓ Free updates forever
19,99€
Explore All Locations →
