06/04/2026
One of the more interesting hidden places in Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the Fairy House! Also known as the House of Fairies, this small stone springhouse is tucked into the hillside near the Twin Creeks area, just off the Twin Creeks Trail near Gatlinburg. It looks like something from a storybook, but it was actually part of the old Voorheis Estate, a 38-acre mountain retreat created by Louis E. Voorheis, a Cincinnati businessman who bought the property in 1928.
Voorheis loved rustic design and used the natural setting around him, building with fieldstone, logs, cedar shingles, and other materials that helped the estate blend into the forest. He also created gardens, pools, fountains, a small dam, and a water-powered mill, using the flow of Twin Creeks as part of the whole design. In 1933, he donated the estate to the National Park Service, but continued using it as a summer retreat for years afterward. Today, the little springhouse still stands, and nearby stonework and old landscape features give you a quiet look at one of the Smokies’ most unique hidden pieces of history.
