History Happy Hour: Elaine Dellinger

Once a sustainable town, Lost Cove is now a graveyard of abandoned homes, rusted cars, and crumbling gravestones. It has been said that it was established around the Civil War era and was a thriving agricultural community. Then, in the early 20th century, logging replaced farming, and the railroad brought workers. Lost Cove was off the beaten path, almost hidden in the forest, with no electricity or running water, but it was just this remoteness and because the town lay on the North Carolina/Tennessee border that an equally thriving moonshine industry began. Neither state law officials agreed on jurisdiction to collect tax revenues. So, none were, creating a haven for illegal spirits.

Eventually, the timber thinned and railroad service that brought passenger trains through the area stopped, leaving Lost Cove residents even more isolated. It was an arduous 8-mile walk just for basic supplies. Rough or non-existent roads led to…