Join me as I wander the South in search of the places that time forgot.


New Stories of Old Places


The Hotel Between the Lakes

The Hotel Between the Lakes

Built in 1884, this hotel served visitors to a Florida resort town between the lakes, until visitors stopped coming.

David Rankin House

David Rankin House

This abandoned brick house is believed to have been constructed in 1790 for one of the earliest settlers in this part of Tennessee.

Abandoned Schoolhouse in a Tennessee Pasture

Abandoned Schoolhouse in a Tennessee Pasture

Fairview School | Greene County, Tennessee | c. 1914 Built in 1914, this old school was closed in the 1940s when rural schools were consoliated. The large ‘auditorium’ room has a make-shift, half basketball court for students to play inside on cold days. The school sits in a rolling pasture, adjacent to Fairview Cumberland Presbyterian…

Welcome to The Forgotten South!

Learn more about this project here.



I’m Kelly

Photographer, Researcher, and Cemetery Advocate

The Forgotten South began in 2010 as the hobby photography project of a history nerd. Since then, I have traveled to more than 2,000 historic sites across 13 states looking for the places time forgot. Then I dig in to research their stories to share with y’all. 

In 2020, the project expanded to include documentation and clean-up of abandoned cemeteries as well.

Here on the website I share the images and stories of the sites I’ve researched so far. I hope you will follow along as I add more stories of old places to the blog!