The trail runs on portion of a
railroad right-of-way (ROW) that ran from Johnson City to Eizabethton, Hampton, Roan Mountain and to Cranberry NC. then on to Boone, NC. 1866
East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad granted charter 1882 ET&WNC begins operation of 32-mile narrow-gauge service from Johnson City TN to Cranberry NC 1919 ET&WNC extends tracks to 66 miles for service to Boone, N.C. 1940 August Torrential rains wash away large sections of ET&WNC track ending service to Boone 1950 July 13 ET&WNC abandons route between Elizabethton and Cranberry NC. All Track pulled up and ROW deeded to Carter County 1952 Discontinues all narrow-gauge rail service. All of its steam locomotives are scrapped or destroyed, except for locomotive No. 12 1960's Late. Doe River Gorge Playland, a small amusement park laid tracks along three miles of the gorge, became Hillbilly World in 1971 2003 October 10 East Tennessee Railway abandons route between Johnson City and Elizabethton 2005 Organization begins to create a Trail 2011 April Johnson City initiates negotiations with the ET Railroad, and the corridor was successfully railbanked 2012 Rails and ties were removed to make way for the trail. Sponsors found to cover most expenses reduced cost drastically. NO grants were sought in the early phases to reduce the timeline and attached strings/ limits 2013 December Acquisition was complete and the work to build the trail begins 2014 August Tweetsie Trail opens first 5 miles to Elizabethton 2014 September Tweetsie Trail expanded to 7 miles into Elizabethton 2015 August Tweetsie Trail expanded to full 10 miles across Elizabethton 2016 Carter County announces plans to extend the trail to Roan Mountain including Old Railroad Grade Road 2022 Land donated to expand Tweetsie Trail from Valley Forge to Hampton 2023 April 6.3 million budgeted by Tennessee includes funds to expand Tweetsie Trail from Valley Forge to Hampton including a replacement trestle at Tweetsie Tunnel #1 and Hampton Watershed Trails Expansion == See also ==