The highlanders were financially compensated for their forcible displacement. They left behind houses, barns, mills, churches and other structures, many dating from the mid-nineteenth century. Some residents resisted the Park movement, and one family remains on Park land today. The Park Service preserved many of the highlanders' old buildings. The Mountain Farm Museum , adjacent to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center , is a uncommon collection of southern Appalachian farm buildings assembled from locations throughout the Park.
Visitors can explore a chestnut log farmhouse, barn, apple house, springhouse, and blacksmith shop.
Most of the structures were built in the late 19th century and were preserved in the 1950s. During the summer Park staff and volunteers give demonstrations of traditional mountain crafts and folkways. The park also holds a variety of annual events, including Old Timers' Day, storytelling, a quilt show, Women's Work, Mountain Life Festival, sorghum molasses and apple butter making, as well as living history demonstrations. A half-mile north of the Mountain Farm Museum is Mingus Mill . A working mill, this piece of living history processes corn into meal using restored 19th century equipment.