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. Originally, the settlement was supported by logging, railroading, moonshine-making, and farming industries. 3rd North Carolina Mounted Infantry soldier Morgan Bailey was its first resident, and at its height, Lost Cove had about 100 residents, 13 to 15 houses, two sawmills, a cemetery, and a Free Will Baptist church called the Tipton Chapel that was also used as a schoolhouse. 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. Fires in 2007 burned most of the structures down. As of December 2007, the town is still accessible to those willing to hike. Visitors to the area come to see the cemetery, Swin Miller's rusted Chevy still lying in a ditch, and the three houses that remain.