Mountain Farm Outdoor Museum next to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

See the Smokemont Region web page for a location map.

The Mountain Farm Outdoor Museum is located next to the Oconaluftee Visitor Center in the Smokemont Region of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It is a collection of mid-1800s farm buildings that include a farmhouse, barn, corn crib, hog pen, meat house, apple house, spring house, and even an outhouse. While these are all authentic buildings, they are not original to the museum site. Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created by purchasing private land. Some people were happy to sell and leave the area, while others were basically forced out. Their homes and other buildings were left behind. In the 1950s the National Park Service started collecting and restoring the buildings from around the park that were salvageable and moved them to the current location.

It takes about 30 minutes to wander around the Mountain Farm Outdoor Museum. A loop trail that covers level terrain leads to various points of interest. Round trip from the Oconaluftee Visitor Center is about .75-mile.

Outhouse at the Mountain Farm Museum in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The farmhouse on display was built by John Davis over the course of two years. It was originally located in the Deep Creek Region of the park. The front door to the house is open so you can look inside at the furnishings, but you cannot enter the building unless a Ranger is present—hit or miss. You can see most everything from the doorway, for the building is not that large. The furnishings are not original, but they are antiques from the period that demonstrate how a typical 1800s farmhouse might have been decorated.