Other such buildings appear unexpectedly around Great Smoky Mountains National Park. People come upon them on certain trails, or encounter them on one of the handful of scenic drives. These places look fragile and ready to surrender to encroaching forest. They appear to have sheltered some hard lives. Yet there's no question why some people hammered out a household in whatever clearing they could make for themselves.
Creeks roar nearby, waterfalls splash the rocks, black bears and whitetail deer roam the woods.
Not only that. No one can call it home any more, of course. The taxpayers own it now. Photos by Robert Cross. Tribune graphics by Tony Kola.