Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park — The final home of the "Forever Places" project in Elkmont has opened to the public, inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The project was an effort to restore the homes and tell the story of the people who lived there. The homes were built in the early 1900s as vacation homes to get away from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life.
The homes had fallen into disrepair over the decades, but with some touching up by members of the National Parks Service, they are back to their original look. Even the paint colors are the same, according to organizers of the project.
Robert Sanders, a carpenter with the Forever Places project, hopes that when people come into the unique homes they will want to learn more about the people who lived there and the history of the national park.
"If a tourist comes through and walks through, they're going to have a ton of questions to ask because they are so unique. And that's how they're going to learn," he said.
The project may be done in the Elkmont area of the park, but more renovations are being done in other places around the Great Smoky Mountains. There are other structures that are already completed and visitors are encouraged to tour around those as well.
The structures are open to the public during park hours and admission is free.