PIGEON FORGE
Action packed tourist town
Pigeon Forge is a popular action packed tourist town located
within easy driving distance to the Nantahala River Gorge. Pigeon Forge grew
steadily after the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Pigeon
Forge has a large variety of dinner shows and music theaters. It is home to the
famous Dollywood theme park and the
Dixie
Stampede Dinner Show. It has excellent shopping with its over 200 factory
outlet stores in shopping malls.
In the l700's and the early 1800's the river banks in the
area were lined with Beech trees. The beechnuts that they produced were a
staple part of the diet of the Passenger Pigeons that visited the area. Large
flocks of these birds feasted on the abundant harvest along the riverbanks.
Beechnuts were a mainstay of their diet and it was a natural stopping off place
for this now extinct species. The river became know as the Pigeon River as a
result of the large number of these birds that fed along its banks.
Pigeon Forge was settled in the late 18th Century. Pioneer
Isaac Love established an iron forge in 1820. His son, William, built a tub
mill in 1830. Daily work revolved around the business of repairing farm
implements. When a post office was established in 1841 it was given the name
Pigeon Forge. The name was a combination of the iron works and the Little
Pigeon River that flows through the town. The town was a small peaceful
community with cornfields and farming projects.
Pigeon Forge grew steadily after the establishment of the
Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1940 and today is a popular tourist
destination.
Some of the music attractions that can be enjoyed nightly
are as follows:
Pigeon Forge is about a 1 ½ hour drive from the
Nantahala River Gorge. Traffic is light on the Parkway at night for visitors
who want to drive over to enjoy top vocal artists in the nightly musical
productions.
|
