Driving Around Pigeon Forge, Tennessee in 4k Video

Filmed on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, I drive around the popular tourist destination Pigeon Forge, TN to see what's going on.

For centuries, the Cherokee used the valley where Pigeon Forge is now located as a hunting ground. A Cherokee footpath known as "Indian Gap Trail" crossed the Great Smokies from North Carolina and passed through the Pigeon Forge valley en route to its junction with Great Indian Warpath in modern Sevierville.

Some time after 1783, Colonel Samuel Wear became one of the first permanent white settlers in the Pigeon Forge area. A veteran of the American Revolution, Wear erected a stockade near the confluence of Walden Creek and Little Pigeon River in 1792. This "fort" provided a safe stopover for early pioneers in the area.

In 1810, Revolutionary War veteran Mordecai Lewis obtained a 151-acre land grant along the Little Pigeon River near the heart of what is now Pigeon Forge. In 1817, Lewis' son-in-law, Isaac Love, established the iron forge for which the city was eventually named.

On May 29, 1841, Love's son, William, established a post office – which he named "Pigeon Forge" – for the mill and the small community that had developed in its vicinity.

In the 1870s, a health resort was established in Pigeon Forge. It was common during this period for the residents of large urban areas to visit mountain springs, the waters of which were believed to have health-restoring qualities.

When Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened in 1934, the Tennessee Valley Authority reported no tourism-oriented businesses in Pigeon Forge. During this period, however, two factors in nearby Gatlinburg led to the eventual commercial boom Pigeon Forge experienced.

First, surrounded by high mountain ridges, Gatlinburg had limited land resources. Second, its land resources were largely controlled by a few local families who thwarted attempts by outside businesses to take advantage of the town's prime location. Thus, outside entrepreneurs were forced to look elsewhere.

In 1961, North Carolina brothers Grover and Harry Robbins opened Rebel Railroad in Pigeon Forge. The railroad simulated a ride on a Confederate steam train that was under attack by Union soldiers during the Civil War, playing upon the centennial anniversary of the war. After the Union assault was beaten back, the railroad came to a stop at a mock frontier mountain town, complete with blacksmith shop, general store, and saloon.

The attraction was reworked with a "Wild West" theme called Goldrush Junction, replacing the Civil War theme. Goldrush Junction was much more successful than Rebel Railroad, prompting the Robbinses to buy a log flume amusement ride and erect it on the property in 1967.

In 1969, after Pigeon Forge issued a zoning plan assigning the entire strip along US-441 for tourism use, Art Modell purchased Goldrush Junction. In 1976, Modell sold it to the Herschend Brothers of Branson, Missouri. The Herschends renamed the park Silver Dollar City after their successful theme park in Branson. The Ozark mountain theme of the Branson location was easily reapplied as an Appalachian theme in Pigeon Forge, and the park's attendance began to climb.

In 1982, Pigeon Forge initiated an aggressive economic plan that centered around theme parks, outlet malls, and live music venues. The first outlet mall, Factory Merchants, opened that same year. By 1987, there were four outlet malls in Pigeon Forge, and by the early 1990s, outlet malls provided 44% of the town's gross revenue.

The increasing number of tourist attractions brought competition for Silver Dollar City and its chief competitor, Magic World, which had constructed a theme park on the slopes of Pine Mountain.

In 1985, the Herschends approached entertainer Dolly Parton (who was born in nearby Sevierville) with a proposal for a partnership in the promotion and operation of Silver Dollar City. After lengthy negotiations, Parton became a majority partner in the enterprise, and Silver Dollar City was renamed Dollywood. Dollywood continued expansion into the 21st century, adding a separate water park in 2001.

Pigeon Forge is served by a mass transit system of buses that are referred to as "Fun Time Trolleys" due to their physical resemblance to early 20th-century trolleys.

Besides the natural environment of the area, the attractions in Pigeon Forge draw approximately 11 million visitors each year.

As of the 2010 census, Pigeon Forge had 5,875 people residing in the city.

The racial makeup of the city was 80.6% White, 1.1% African American, 0.7% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 13.5% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race accounted for 18.2% of the population.

The per capita income for the city was $20,959. About 9.8% of families and 10.6% of the population were living below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or older. #driving #travel #drivingtour