Lost Cove, North Carolina

Lost Cove is a ghost town in Yancey County, North Carolina. The town was first settled by Morgan Bailey shortly before the Civil War. The town is located in the Poplar Gorge above the Nolichucky River on the Tennessee - North Carolina border. [1] Originally, the settlement was supported by robust logging, railroading, moonshine-making, and farming industries. Several factors contributed to the town's abandonment including rough terrain, isolation, and the end of passenger railroad stops. In 1957, the last family left Lost Cove, leaving it deserted. [2] Today, the town is still accessible to those willing to make the hike. Visitors to the area come to see the cemetery, Swin Miller's rusted Chevy still laying in a ditch, and the three houses that remain after fires in 2007 burned most of the structures down. [3]


Visiting the town

Lost Cove is only accessible via hiking trails. To reach the ghost town, there are two possible routes. The first route is shorter but steeper: from the parking lot on Forest Road, you must hike 2 miles up a gravel hill. The second route is longer yet flatter: from River Road, follow the railroad tracks along the river for 3 miles until you encounter a 1 mile dirt path that will lead you into the town. [4]

Railroads and logging

Although Lost Cove is believed to have been founded around the time of the Civil War, the town did not begin to prosper until the logging industry made Lost Cove a viable stop on the railroad tracks. With its location in the mountains, Lost Cove was an ideal logging area that provided many trees from the surrounding Pisgah National Forest.[5] Now the town was thriving with the help of logging industries and railroads, residents were able to build a school to educate their children. However, timber is a limited resource, and as the supply of wood began to diminish, the railroad stopped servicing the town in order to focus on other industries like coal. With a major part of the economy deteriorated, residents lobbied to build a road into Lost Cove. Legislators denied this request and the people living in the town slowly began to move away until the town was abandoned in 1957.

Moonshine

Moonshine was an important part of Lost Cove's economy. While some families made the illicit whiskey for their own personal use, others would turn a profit by selling or trading moonshine to nearby townsfolk or men passing through on the railroad. [6] One of the reasons that moonshiners were able to prosper in Lost Cove, was that judges trying to control the problem were unsure of which jurisdiction the town fell in. Because it fell on the Tennessee- North Carolina border and was very isolated, Lost Cove created an environment where moonshiners came to do business. [7]

Equipment used to create moonshine or "illicit whiskey."

References

  1. ↑ http://www.unclejohnnys.net/lostcove.html
  2. ↑ https://southernappalachian.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/lost-cove-ghost-town-in-the-national-forest/
  3. ↑ http://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3508&context=etd
  4. ↑ http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lost-cove-settlement
  5. ↑ https://southernappalachian.wordpress.com/2013/01/22/lost-cove-ghost-town-in-the-national-forest/
  6. ↑ http://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3508&context=etd
  7. ↑ http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lost-cove-settlement


Coordinates: 36°04′15″N 82°24′08″W / 36.07083°N 82.40222°W / 36.07083; -82.40222


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