Fork Mountain

Fork Mountain is a ghost town in Anderson County, Tennessee, straddling the Anderson-Morgan County line along Tennessee State Route 116 and the New River. It began as a coal mining camp and grew into a genuine community, supporting at least six underground mines, a school, a railroad siding, and a sizable population through the early 1950s. By 1980, however, the mines had shut down and most of the structures had been dismantled.

Today, Frozen Head State Park encompasses part of the old Morgan County side of the townsite, making it the most accessible entry point for visitors curious about the area's past. The town of Petros lies about four miles to the south. Expect a setting defined more by forest and river corridor than by visible ruins — most of what made Fork Mountain a working community is gone. It rewards visitors who appreciate layered landscape history over standing structures.