Gatlinburg

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Gatlinburg
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There is wonderful family fun and great natural beauty in Gatlinburg, TN, “The Gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains”. This city on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a popular vacation resort. US Route 441 runs through Gatlinburg. Pigeon Forge is a mere 6 miles away and offers family theme parks.

In Gatlinburg’s early history the Cherokee and the Native Americans from our pre-history traveled through a footpath that was knows as Indian Gap Trail to access the forests and coves. Through this gap they could find an abundance of game. This trail connects with the Great Indian Warpath running through the modern day cities of Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and through the Sugar lands. It then travels up over the crest of the Smokies and descends into North Carolina. During the 18th century the area saw an influx of European and American hunters and trappers. Perhaps they camped in the very flats where Gatlinburg is now situated. South Carolina resident William Ogle decided to settle permanently in the area and enlisted the help of the Cherokee cut, hewed and notched logs for a cabin he planned to build. With the plans for the cabin underway he retuned to England to bring his family over. The plans were set aside when Ogle was taken ill with malaria and he passed away in 1803.

Ogle’s widow, Martha moved the family to Virginia but returned to the area sometime in about 1806. They found the notched logs and used them to erect a cabin. The cabin still stands today. In the decade following a stream of settlers moved in with the titles to the 50 acre tracts of land given them for service in the American Revolution and the war of 1812.

The official beginning of the city of Gatlinburg was when the Post Office opened in the general store building owned by Radford Gatlin. Gatlin was a newcomer and often fell into arguments and discord with the neighbors. This continued through 1857 when a full scale feud erupted between him and other residents when he tried to divert the main road for his own purposes. Most of the residents were pro-Union but Gatlin was a southern sympathizer and he was forced out of the community on the eve of the Civil War. The residents of Gatlinburg tried to remain neutral during the Civil War but were called upon to raise the militia when Colonel Will Thomas of the Confederate Army marched into town in order to protect the salt peter mines. Federal forces marched in from the north and dislodged Thomas and his soldiers. Next they built a fort on Burg Hill.

A truly significant event was the 1880 invention of the band saw. Logging and railroads brought a boom in the lumber industry. As the forests were harvested the lumber operations moved inland and into the mountain areas of the Appalachian highlands.

In 1900 Andrew Jackson Huff built a sawmill and local residents began supplementing income by providing lodging for loggers and company officials. Tourists poured in drawn by the natural beauty of mountains and forests.

A survey of the region listed lack of educational opportunities as a pressing need and in 1912, the women of Pi Beta Phi established a school. There were those who feared that they might be religious fanatics but the school’s enrollment grew to 134 in the first year of operation. In addition to educational efforts the school’s staff also offered a small market for local crafts.

Phyllis Higginbotham, a nurse from Canada worked at the school and met with resistance to her role as health care provider. She found the mountain people particularly difficult and noted that their diet was sadly lacking in variety and nutrition.

Conservationists became concerned about the extensive logging in the early 1900’s and in 1911 Congress the Weeks Act that permitted them to purchase land for national forests. Tourists surged in and hotels and lodges were built.

This park changed Gatlinburg forever. In 1912 Gatlinburg was a small town with 6 houses, a blacksmith shop, general store and a church. Nearly 600 residents lived in log cabins at the edge of the area. In 1934 an estimated 40,000 people had visited the area and the price of land in Gatlinburg increased from $50 to $8000 per acre in a mere 10 years. This made many residents wealthy but the infrastructure is often pushed to the limits. Today the Park serves as a showcase for a diverse cultural history. It is also designated as an International Biosphere Reserve.

Visitation in the park is encouraged as it is within a two hour drive for half of the nation’s population. Great Smoky Mountains National Park has the highest visitation of all of the national parks in the country.

In 1992 the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum, the haunted house, an arcade, and an entire city block burned to the ground. They were able to contain and put out the fire before it reached the 32-story Gatlinburg Space Needle. The cause of the fire was determined to be faulty wiring and the fire prompted the enactment of new downtown building codes and a downtown fire station.

Manmade attractions and the beauty of the mountains brings visitors in. There is a ski resort and an amusement park. Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies features special exhibits such as the Titanic, pirates and the planet Mars. Country music star Dolly Parton opened Dollywood and Dollywoods’s Splash Park in nearby Pigeon Forge.

Music and family oriented theatres including the Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre and the Patty Waszak offer musical comedy but the number of musical productions in Gatlinburg has been reduced as shows move to Pigeon Forge.

Waterfalls, streams and forest draw in professional photographers seeking outstanding backdrops. The local candy shop makes taffy and fudge. The Christmas season downtown is beautiful and the entire downtown is decorated with lights.

Ober Gatlin is an amusement park. This is the only ski area in Tennessee. There are 8 ski trails and three chair lifts. A gondola system carries tourists from the city strip into the high areas by aerial tramway.

The state of Tennessee proudly showcases the area’s unique culture and history. In 2006 the Gatlinburg Bicentennial Committee was formed and began plans for 2007 Bicentennial Celebration. Tennessee’s history is rich and diverse. Beautiful trails with historic sites, music and the arts display the best of the colorful state which has enjoyed 2 centuries of statehood.

The Heritage Trail pathway offers folk art, hand-made pottery, oak and willow baskets, watercolors, sculpture and lithographs. The History trail allows you to discover ancestors and events and the Music Trail offers music from 3 cultural traditions. The East Tennessee Appalachian regions is well knows for the bluegrass music brought to the region by 1700’s immigrants.

Ogle’s Cabin, The Pi Beta Phi Settlement School and the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts offer educational opportunities still today. The Arrowmont School which was opened in 1945 offers year-round classes and workshops for college credit. It was once and elementary and high school complex that also offered vocational training. Old classrooms now are a studio space for arts and crafts classes, food and lodging services, and administrative facilities.

Pi Beta Phi continues to offer educational opportunities. Many of the originals buildings have been restored and are still in use.

The First Baptist Church first convened in the early 1800’s. Although the area was heavily settled by Presbyterians the Baptists promptly were able to establish 2 congregations.

Noah Ogle was the city’s first retailer. The store was established in 1850. In 1910 the store was moved to the intersection of River Road and the Elmount Highway. Through the years the store continued and was expanded as new merchandise was added. You could buy almost anything there from hairpins to farm equipment. The store was torn down in 1970 to make way for the Mountain Mall. In spite of this the spirit of the old city shines in the new.

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