Category Archives: Hotels and Motels

-Tennessee, Hotels and Motels, National Register of Historic Places

Higdon Hotel-Reliance, Tennessee

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Higdon Hotel was built in 1878 by Harriet Dodson. By 1883, the place was purchased by the Higdon family. The Higdons expanded it to host the railroad bosses who were overseeing the building of the railroad through Reliance.

Once the railroad was done, it became a resort hotel for people vacationing in the area. When the railroad no longer was the main method of transportation, the hotel went out of business.

In the 1970s, the hotel was purchased by seven friends who worked to stabilize the building with the hopes of reopening it again. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to complete the work.

1914 image of the hotel
Notice the gingerbread details
April 27, 1929 ad in the Knoxville Sunday Journal

Reference: WBIR in Knoxville

-Georgia, Abandoned, Hotels and Motels

Tennga Motel-Tennga, Georgia

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Built in 1947, the Tennga Motel is near the Tennessee-Georgia border on US Highway 411. Motels used to dot highways all across the country, but the creation of interstates diverted traffic away from towns such as Tennga that would serve as a brief respite for travelers.

US Highway 411 runs from Alabama to Tennessee through Georgia.