Near Gatlinburg in Sevier County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Wonderland Hotel

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 12, 2021

1. Wonderland Hotel Marker

Inscription. The Wonderland Hotel that once stood at the top of this road was the social center of the Wonderland Club. The hotel was originally built in 1912 to attract tourists seeking a mountain getaway, but by 1919 it had become a private, members-only club. The club counted among its members doctors, lawyers, and businessmen, mostly from Knoxville, and even included Tennessee Governor Austin Peay. Opened to the general public in the early 1970s, the Wonderland offered 26 unique guest rooms and a dining hall that was known for serving excellent home-cooked meals. It closed in November 1992.

The resorts at Elkmont, including the Wonderland and Appalachian clubs, helped expose the Smokies’ scenic beauty to a wide variety of influential visitors, and also provided gathering places for park boosters in the 1920s.

”I watched them dance at the Wonderland Club Hotel. I used to go down on Saturday night and watch them dance. We’d stay outside on the porch and you could look through the windows and see them dancing.”
—Winfred Ownby, Elkmont native

Erected by National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Entertainment • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1912.

Location.

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35° 39.752′ N, 83° 35.37′ W. Marker is near Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in Sevier County. It is on Elkmont Road 1.1 miles east of Fighting Creek Gap Road (Little River Gorge Road), on the left when traveling east. Marker is located within the Elkmont Historic District in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, about 4½ miles west of the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Gatlinburg TN 37738, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee

and in the Great Smoky Mountains.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

the State of Franklin,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Boom Town (approx. 0.4 miles away); Elkmont (approx. 0.4 miles away); Quite a Social Place (approx. ¾ mile away); The Appalachian Club (approx. ¾ mile away); Appalachian Clubhouse (approx. ¾ mile away); Elkmont Historic District: Appalachian Club (approx. ¾ mile away); Cabin #2: Murphy/Smith Cabin (approx. ¾ mile away); Cabin #1: Fulton/Sneed Cabin (approx. ¾ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gatlinburg.

Regarding Wonderland Hotel. Site is included within the Elkmont Historic District, National Register of Historic Places #94000166.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Elkmont Historic District

Also see . . .
1. Wonderland Hotel (Wikipedia). The Wonderland Hotel was built in 1911 at Elkmont, Tennessee by the Wonderland

Marker detail: Wonderland Hotel Guests image. Click for full size.

2. Marker detail: Wonderland Hotel Guests

(marker background image)

Club Company and was dismantled and partially preserved in 2005 by the National Park Service. It burned down in early 2016. The Wonderland Hotel was a two-story wood frame structure, built from local materials, including large chestnut boards harvested nearby. The steps to the Hotel originally started at the Little River Railroad tracks and went to the top of the hill that the hotel sat upon where river rocks were cemented into the top of the stairs spelling out the word "Wonderland". (Submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. Elkmont, Tennessee: Resort town. In 1911, Townsend gave Charles Carter several acres of land on a hill overlooking Elkmont with the stipulation that Carter build on it within one year. In 1912, Carter made good on the promise when he opened the Wonderland Hotel. Billed as a resort lodge, the hotel contained 50 rooms with an extensive balcony looking out over the valley and Meigs Mountain. As membership in the Appalachian Club proved remarkably difficult to obtain, several rejected Knoxvillians purchased the Wonderland Hotel site and formed the Wonderland Club in 1919. Along with the hotel, 10 or so cottages were erected on the hill. (Submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: Little River Railroad image. Click for full size.

3. Marker detail: Little River Railroad

Little River Railroad’s first passenger train stop in Elkmont was the Wonderland Hotel.

Marker detail: Wonderland Hotel image. Click for full size.

4. Marker detail: Wonderland Hotel

The hotel featured a wrap-around porch with a view of Blanket Mountain and ample space for social gatherings.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 12, 2021

5. Wonderland Hotel Marker

(trail behind marker leads uphill to former Wonderland Hotel site)

Wonderland Hotel Fireplace Ruins image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 12, 2021

6. Wonderland Hotel Fireplace Ruins

(uphill from marker at former Wonderland Hotel site)

Stairs to the Wonderland Hotel image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, November 2, 2024

7. Stairs to the Wonderland Hotel

Wonderland Hotel Ruins image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, November 2, 2024

8. Wonderland Hotel Ruins

Credits. This page was last revised on November 28, 2024. It was originally submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 3,248 times since then and 136 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on May 26, 2021, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. 7, 8. submitted on November 23, 2024, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee.