OUR TOWN 87
Once Upon A Time…
in Pigeon Forge
Once upon a time there was a small community called
Pigeon Forge, a picturesque valley filled with wheat
fields and farmlands. The town took its name from two
sources: “Pigeon” from the Little Pigeon River, which
takes its name from the passenger pigeons that once
nested there; “Forge” refers to a forge built by Isaac
Love in 1817, one of the town’s first businesses.
Pigeon Forge history can be traced back to the
Revolutionary War, when Col. Samuel Wear, a soldier
from Virginia, settled here before 1783 and established
Wear’s Fort, a refuge for the settlers during Indian raids.
There are other historical highlights that contributed to
what our town has become today. President Franklin
Historical Journey
You can take a journey through Pigeon Forge history
D. Roosevelt’s dedication of Great Smoky Mountains on our historical-marker driving tour. A number of
National Park in 1940, and the opening of Rebel historical markers are located throughout Pigeon Forge
Railroad theme park in 1961. That park would morph that tell about the town’s first businesses and schools,
into Silver Dollar City in 1976 and become Dollywood our railroad and some of the forts that existed in the
in 1986. area. MyPigeonForge.com/history
Tourism started to become the town’s identity in the
‘60s, as attractions, restaurants and motels started
to pop up. That trend continues today, with new
businesses joining the Pigeon Forge community each
year, making our town one of the most popular family
destinations in the Southeastern United States.