Pigeon Forge
Tennessee
Add an Article
Add an Event
Edit
City Of Pigeon Forge
History of Pigeon Forge
Pigeon Forge, Tenn.--Pigeon Forge, today a playground for vacationing families, was once a valley of golden wheat fields and lush farm lands with the majestic peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains for a backdrop. The town takes the first part of its name from the Little Pigeon River, and the river takes its name from passenger pigeons. These birds, now extinct, were so numerous that they darkened the sky as they flew into the valley, and the beech trees along the river were stripped of limbs by the weight of their great numbers. The second part of the name came from the bloomery 'forge' built by Isaac Love in 1817, on a site near the present Old Mill.
Mordecai Lewis was a Pigeon Forge pioneer who received a 151-acre land grant and built the now historic Old Mill around 1790. In 1849 the mill (or forge tract) was purchased by Mr. John Sevier Trotter who sold it to Mr. John Marshall McMahan. Mr. McMahan sold one fourth of the mill interest to A. T. Householder in December of 1900. His transfer deed specifically mentioned a gristmill, sawmill, and a carding machine.
The first white settlers to come into the Pigeon Forge area were probably traders who followed the trail of the Great Indian path from Virginia to the center of the Cherokee nation. Colonel Samuel Wear, a soldier of the Revolution from Virginia, settled here before 1783. Wear's Fort, near the mouth of Walden's Creek on the West Fork of the Little Pigeon, was a refuge during Indian raids. This historic site is located near Pigeon Forge's library building.
As early as the War Between the States, folks in Pigeon Forge were worshiping at a log meetinghouse southeast of the present Methodist Church. The building was used by Methodists, both Primitive and Missionary Baptists, and United Brethren. Sometime in the 1870s or 1880s, a new frame building was built. The Methodists officially organized in 1880.
The iron forge, which gave Pigeon Forge its name, was dismantled sometime before 1884. Some believe it was moved to Kentucky. A vertical saw operation took its place. Through the efforts of earlier residents, the five hundred pound hammer used in the forge was preserved. After the original forge was removed, the hammer was displayed, first, at Butler's Home Market, then, Henry and Fannie Butler's Forge Hammer Grill and later at Apple Tree Inn. The forge's hammer continued to remain on display at the Apple Tree Inn for many years.
Pigeon Forge, Tenn.--Pigeon Forge, today a playground for vacationing families, was once a valley of golden wheat fields and lush farm lands with the majestic peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains for a backdrop. The town takes the first part of its name from the Little Pigeon River, and the river takes its name from passenger pigeons. These birds, now extinct, were so numerous that they darkened the sky as they flew into the valley, and the beech trees along the river were stripped of limbs by the weight of their great numbers. The second part of the name came from the bloomery 'forge' built by Isaac Love in 1817, on a site near the present Old Mill.
Mordecai Lewis was a Pigeon Forge pioneer who received a 151-acre land grant and built the now historic Old Mill around 1790. In 1849 the mill (or forge tract) was purchased by Mr. John Sevier Trotter who sold it to Mr. John Marshall McMahan. Mr. McMahan sold one fourth of the mill interest to A. T. Householder in December of 1900. His transfer deed specifically mentioned a gristmill, sawmill, and a carding machine.
The first white settlers to come into the Pigeon Forge area were probably traders who followed the trail of the Great Indian path from Virginia to the center of the Cherokee nation. Colonel Samuel Wear, a soldier of the Revolution from Virginia, settled here before 1783. Wear's Fort, near the mouth of Walden's Creek on the West Fork of the Little Pigeon, was a refuge during Indian raids. This historic site is located near Pigeon Forge's library building.
As early as the War Between the States, folks in Pigeon Forge were worshiping at a log meetinghouse southeast of the present Methodist Church. The building was used by Methodists, both Primitive and Missionary Baptists, and United Brethren. Sometime in the 1870s or 1880s, a new frame building was built. The Methodists officially organized in 1880.
The iron forge, which gave Pigeon Forge its name, was dismantled sometime before 1884. Some believe it was moved to Kentucky. A vertical saw operation took its place. Through the efforts of earlier residents, the five hundred pound hammer used in the forge was preserved. After the original forge was removed, the hammer was displayed, first, at Butler's Home Market, then, Henry and Fannie Butler's Forge Hammer Grill and later at Apple Tree Inn. The forge's hammer continued to remain on display at the Apple Tree Inn for many years.