The Lost Cove of Yancey County

Elaine McAlister Dellinger, research, archaeologist, and member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, will talk about Lost Cove, now a ghost town deep in the Pisgah National forest along the bank of the Nolichucky River in Yancey County.
Once a town of around 100 people, Lost Cove is now a graveyard of abandoned homes, rusted cars and crumbling gravestones. It has been said that the town was formed around the Civil War times and thrived as an agricultural community. Then, as late as the early 20th century, logging replaced farming and the railroad brought the workers. Lost Cove’s remote location enticed moonshiners. Because the town lay on the North Carolina/Tennessee border, neither law officials agreed on jurisdiction to police the area, collect tax revenues. This created a haven for illegal spirits.
Eventually the timber thinned and railroad service that brought passenger trains through the area stopped, leaving Lost Cove residents isolated. Rough or non-existent roads led to supply shortages and an exodus. The last know resident left in 1957.
Fire in 2007 destroyed most of what remained, but some structures, memories, and history remain for the intrepid hiker (the only access). Elaine Dellinger has spent the last several decades researching Yancey County history. She has written and edited several books on the county including “Images of America: Yancey County,” “Some Called Him Poppa, Some Called Him Daddy,” Images of Yancey: Volumes One and Two,” and the Yancey County cemetery book series, co-authored with Gwen Bodford. Take a step back in time and listen to her discoveries about Lost Cove, North Carolina, one of the most legendary ghost towns in eastern United States.
Suggested donation: $5, but all are welcome.