Tennessee's Abandoned Town With A Quirky Name Is Surrounded By Mountain Beauty

Deep in the wilderness of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area in Scott County, Tennessee is an abandoned ghost town that seems like a place where humans have no business being. Some say that's how this settlement, No Business, got its name after it was founded in 1796 by a Revolutionary War veteran given a land grant in this area so remote and isolated that it's hard to imagine anyone living there, let alone 300 people at its peak. 

Some say the quirky name came from the first settlers' feeling that they had "no business" making their homes in a place as removed as this, while others argue it came from residents' belief that outsiders had "no business" coming there because they didn't need anyone else. After all, for 164 years, this place was home to a community so self-sufficient that folks grew their own tobacco, made their own shoes, produced their own moonshine during Prohibition, and even built coffins themselves for their loved ones. 

The community experienced a brief period of growth when mining and logging came to the area, but as those resources dried up, it started to go into decline. World War II sped up the end of No Business as a number of young men went off to fight and after experiencing life outside their closed-off community, where there was no radio or television to connect them to the world, they decided not to return. Tennessee has its fair share of abandoned towns hidden in the mountains and No Business is no exception. These days, you'll find stunning mountain beauty surrounding the few ruins of this community that existed until the 1960s, when its last remaining resident died.

Most of No Business' remnants have been erased with time, but you can still find a few relics like metal washtubs, stone foundations of former homes, and the ruins of the Boyatt homestead chimney, where one of the region's most infamous tragedies took place. In 1933, a local well-liked sheriff and his deputy (who was also his son) came out to the area after a fight broke out between 19-year-old Jerome Boyatt and his uncle.

It's unknown whether the sheriff opened fire first or Jerome did, but Jerome killed both policemen and went into hiding. Over 100 vigilantes looked for Jerome but couldn't find him, so they kidnapped his mother and sisters and killed his father in the homestead, whose ruins still stand today. Jerome turned himself in to avoid further retaliation against his family, but a group of 25 masked men broke into the jail to take care of Jerome themselves by torturing and killing him and another man. There aren't many remains of No Business today but this dark history adds an eerie element to one of Tennessee's most beautiful locations. 

When the community's residents said that people had no business going there, they really meant it; this is one of the most isolated places in the region, it's hard to find, and to get there, you have to drive along dirt roads, ford a creek, and then hike (or go via horseback). This part of the Cumberland Plateau includes a tree-lined valley with untouched wilderness other than the few relics of No Business. The unsung charming city of Oneida is just over an hour from the start of the trail to No Business, and Knoxville — site of the closest major airport — is a little over two hours driving.

The best way to access No Business is via Terry Cemetery, which is the start of a 4.7-mile out-and-back trail to the John Muir Overlook and includes incredible views of the valley. Some do a longer 5.5-mile loop that includes the Maude's Crack and Longfield Branch trails. Discover Scott outlines clear directions to find No Business, while AllTrails offers routes for the Terry Cemetery out-and-back and longer loop trails. Some of these trails are unmaintained, so be sure to download your map beforehand.

For long-distance runners looking for a unique challenge, the No Business 100 is an annual 102-mile race that loops through the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and even crosses the state line into Kentucky. The race passes by the No Business settlement, so it's an unforgettable way to experience one of Tennessee's lesser-known areas.