Pigeon Forge, Tennessee

Pigeon Forge is a small resort town in Sevier County, in eastern Tennessee. It covers 11.6 sq mi (30 sq km) and has a population approaching 6,000 people (2011 estimate). The town is on the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River, about 5 miles to the north of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Titanic Museum, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Titanic_museum_entrance.jpg
Author: Doug Coldwell


Until the arrival of Europeans, the area was a hunting ground for the Cherokee tribe of Native Americans. They established footpaths through the forest. One of these, the Indian Gap Trail, was used by the early Europeans to reach Pigeon Forge. In 1783 Colonel Samuel Wear, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, became the first European American to settle in the Pigon Forge area.

In 1785, the Cherokee was forced to sign the Treaty of Dumplin Creek, which ceded much of present-day Sevier County to the United States. The following year, another Revolutionary War veteran, Robert Shields, received a land grant for a tract in the area. He established a small fort in the area, near present-day Dollywood.

Pigeon Forge traces its history to an iron forge built by Isaac Love sometime around 1820. The area became known as Pigeon Forge because there were many pigeons that flocked to the bank of the Little Pigeon River.

The people in the area were staunch Methodists since the early 19th century, and is still so today.

Visiting Pigeon Forge

Pigeon Forge is located to the southeast of Knoxville, on the way to Gatlinburg. Take Interstate 40 to Exit 407, then continue south on Tennessee State Route 66 (Winfield Dunn Parkway). At Sevierville, continue on Tennessee State Route 71 (US-441 Scenic Parkway) until you reach Pigeon Forge.

Places of Interest in Pigeon Forge

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