Because of it’s proximity to The Great Smoky Mountains, Gatlinburg Tennessee is one of the more popular tourist destinations in the United States. Nearly 10 million people spent some part of their vacation in Gatlinburg last year.
For the amount of activity that goes on and the number of tourists that visit every year, Gatlinburg is actually a fairly small town. With only 10 square miles of land and a total population under 4,000, if it weren’t for the tourists, Gatlinburg would just be a blip on the map. However, with the more than 30,000 people that stay here every single night of the year and the many attractions along with The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cades Cove this is a fun vacation destination for the whole family.
Gatlinburg is located in a valley surrounded by mountains on all 4 sides and the Le Conte and Sugarland Mountain ranges are clearly seen to the south. It was first settled by Martha Jane Ogle in 1806 when she and her brother, Peter Huskey, returned to finish the cabin her husband, William Ogle, started in the Gatlinburg area with the help of the Cherokee Indians around 1802. Previous to that hunters and trappers likely camped in and traversed the valley area of Gatlinburg while looking for food. The Ogle’s cabin still stands today very near the center of Gatlinburg.
Further settlement of the area came after the Revolutionary War and War of 1812 when veterans slowly streamed into the valley claiming 50 acre tracts of land as compensation for their service to the country. Those veterans included John Ownby, Jr., Timothy Reagan and Henry Bohanon and the descendants of these early settlers still live in the Gatlinburg area today.
It wasn’t however, until 1856 when the first post office was established in Radford Gatlin’s general store that the town became known as Gatlinburg. It is ironic that Radford Gatlin had been in town only since 1854 yet it was named after him. Later Gatlin was forced out of town in at the start of the Civil War in 1859 when he was a Confederate sympathizer and the residents of Gatlinburg were pro-Union.
Industry and money came to the area when the Little River Lumber Company was established by W. B. Townsed in Tuckaleechee in 1901. Previously a sawmill had been built in Gatlinburg in 1900. Residents began selling some of their lumber off of their 50 acre tracts of land to lumber interests to earn extra money. At this time as well, the natural wonders written about by Horace Kephart and Mary Noailles Murfree attracted a few tourists to Gatlinburg.
The first school was established in Gatlinburg in 1912 and grew in attendance from 33 to 134 pupils in its first year of operation despite skeptical locals who were worried about opportunists.
The logging industry began to grow throughout the early 1900’s as conservationists called for the government to take action to preserve the Smoky Mountains area. The 1911 Weeks Act allowed for land to be purchased and established as national forests. The first portion of The Great Smoky Mountains National Park became a reality in 1926 when 76,000 acres were purchased from the Little River Lumber Company.
The first hotel was established in Gatlinburg in 1916 by Andrew Huff and later his son Jack Huff, built LeConte Lodge at the top of Mt LeConte in 1926. Against the wishes of lumber interests and the Tennessee legislature, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was officially opened in 1934.
With the advent of these hotels, lodges and the establishment of the national park, the sleepy little town of Gatlinburg was forever changed. When the first school was built in 1912 there were only six houses, a general store, a blacksmith, one Baptist church and a community of around 600 people. When the national park first opened in 1934, 40,000 visitors came through Gatlinburg that year. The next year was even more traumatic for the little town when that number swelled to 500,000. The secluded, rural life of Gatlinburg residents was to be no more.
The tourist industry made many of the residents of Gatlinburg wealthy as property values increased from $50 per acre in 1940 to $8,000 per acre in 1950. It has however created issues of infrastructure and even today during peak vacation times, the town’s resources and roads are pushed to the limit.
Gatlinburg was in the national spotlight after the evening of July 14, 1992 when an entire city block was gutted by fire. The Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum was completely destroyed by the fire as was a souvenir shop, arcade and haunted house attraction. Vary few of the artifacts in the Ripley’s museum could be spared. The few that survived are exhibited in the rebuilt Ripley’s today. The city block was quickly rebuilt in less than 3 years and building codes changed, yet since the original fires, there have been two additional, but much less damaging fires, Believe It or Not!
Gatlinburg today serves as one of the top tourist destinations in the Southeast and acts a home base for many visitors exploring the Smoky Mountains and many of the natural wonders of the area. Cades Cove is one of the more popular natural attractions in the National Park bringing in more than 2 million visitors per year. Visitors to the Cove can take a 10 mile loop road around the valley by car, motorcycle, bicycle, or foot and experience what life was like for the early settlers of the Smoky Mountains.
Many man made Gatlinburg attractions such as Ripley’s Aquarium Of The Smokies, Dollywood, Ober Gatlinburg and others attract vacationers to the area as well.
Gatlinburg now boasts more than 11,000 hotel rooms and numerous cabin rentals throughout the area. More than 400 shops, attractions and restaurants also are available for browsing in the popular downtown area. From its humble beginnings starting with that single cabin build by Mary Jane Ogle in 1806 to the center of attention and the more than 9 million yearly visitors today, Gatlinburg continues to evolve as a popular and exciting tourist and retirement destination.
Alan
Tags: smoky mountains, cades cove, gatlinburg history, william ogle, cherokee indians, civil war
Posted by alan as Gatlinburg, Gatlinburg Attractions at 1:13 PM PDT
The Bearskin Lodge isn’t your typical hotel in downtown Gatlinburg. The hotel is located just about a block away from the entrance to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and overlooks the Little Pigeon River. Some rooms have private balconies overlooking this beautiful mountain stream where you can just site and relax and contemplate life or the great Gatlinburg Vacation you’re having.