A Once-Thriving Abandoned School Hidden In The Great Smoky Mountains Is One Of Tennessee's Coolest Attractions

The sheer size of Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains National Park means that there are boundless surprises to explore hidden in shaded groves and quiet corners of the forest. Though known for postcard-perfect mountain ranges and renowned hiking trails, the Great Smoky Mountains have some fascinating historic sites, too. Structures like those left over from the once-thriving, now-abandoned resort town of Daisy Town link the park to its human history. At the northern side of the park, close to Wears Valley, Tennessee, you'll find an unassuming log cabin that was once a one-room schoolhouse, the Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse. With its doors open for visitors to step inside, you can walk through this time capsule of mountain life that once served the Appalachian village that came before the national park was established.

At the time that the schoolhouse was built in 1882, a village called Little Greenbrier already existed. At one time, the village had over 300 residents, with a store and even a hotel, but, like many communities that lived in the area, the villagers were forced to relocate when the national park was formed in the 1930s. While the schoolhouse mainly functioned for educating children of the village, it was also used for church services by Primitive Baptists. That's why you might notice something eerily odd about the site: Right behind it, there's a cemetery that was overseen by the congregation. Some have reported strange lights and glowing orbs around the cemetery and inside the schoolhouse — others even say they've seen spectral figures walking among the grounds.

The Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse sits within the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area of the park, which is within close distance of some lovely nearby towns like Townsend, the laid-back, less touristy gateway to the Smoky Mountains, about a 20-minute drive away. You can also get to the schoolhouse area in about 45 minutes by car from Knoxville's McGhee Tyson Airport. Make sure to buy a parking tag (required for parking longer than 15 minutes in the park). In summer and fall, a short service road is open that leads directly to the schoolhouse. Otherwise, you'll have to park at the Metcalf Bottoms Picnic Area and hike to the schoolhouse along the Metcalf Bottoms Trail. The hike is generally pretty easy — 1.4 miles out and back — though the first part of it requires an uphill climb on a gravelly path. It runs along a pretty little creek with two log bridges.

As the path eases up into a clearing, you'll see the schoolhouse emerge. You can walk inside, where you'll see wooden desks and even an old blackboard left over from its school years. After exploring the schoolhouse and cemetery, you can extend your outing by continuing along the trail to the Walker Sisters Cabin, the last remaining home from the Little Greenbrier village. The six Walker sisters were residents of the village who refused to leave when the area was being cleared to make way for the national park; the government eventually leased them the land, allowing them to stay until the last sister died in 1964. The cabin is even older than the schoolhouse, dating back to the 1840s, and has two large rooms you can explore.