Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Gatlinburg is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located 39 miles (63 km) southeast of Knoxville and had a population of 3,577 at the 2020 census. It is a popular mountain resort town, as it rests on the border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S. Route 441.

History of Gatlinburg

For centuries, Cherokee hunters, as well as other Native American hunters before them, used a footpath known as the Indian Gap Trail to access the abundant game in the forests and coves of the Smokies. This trail connected the Great Indian Warpath with Rutherford Indian Trace, following the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River from modern-day Sevierville through modern-day Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and the Sugarlands, crossing the crest of the Smokies along the slopes of Mount Collins, and descending into North Carolina along the banks of the Oconaluftee River. US-441 largely follows this same route today, although it crests at Newfound Gap rather than Indian Gap.

Although various 18th-century European and early American hunters and fur trappers probably traversed or camped in the flats where Gatlinburg is now situated, it was Edgefield, South Carolina, native William Ogle (1751–1803) who first decided to permanently settle in the area. With the help of the Cherokee, Ogle cut, hewed, and notched logs in the flats, planning to erect a cabin the following year. He returned home to Edgefield to retrieve his family and grow one final crop for supplies. However, shortly after his arrival in Edgefield, a malaria epidemic swept the low country; Ogle succumbed to the disease in 1803.

His widow, Martha Huskey Ogle (1756–1827), moved the family to Virginia, where she had relatives. Sometime around 1806, Martha Huskey Ogle made the journey over Indian Gap Trail to what is now Gatlinburg with her brother, Peter Huskey, her daughter, Rebecca, and her daughter's husband, James McCarter. William Ogle's notched logs awaited them, and they erected a cabin near the confluence of Baskins Creek and the West Fork of the Little Pigeon shortly after their arrival. The cabin still stands today near the heart of Gatlinburg. James and Rebecca McCarter settled in the Cartertown district of Gatlinburg.

In the decade following the arrival of the Ogles, McCarters, and Huskeys in what came to be known as White Oak Flats, a steady stream of settlers moved into the area. Most were veterans of the American Revolution or War of 1812 who had converted the 50-acre (200,000 m2) tracts they had received for service in war into deeds. Among these early settlers were Timothy Reagan (c. 1750–1830), John Ownby Jr. (1791–1857), and Henry Bohanon (1760–1842). Their descendants still live in the area today.

In 1856, a post office was established in the general store of Radford Gatlin (c. 1798–1880), giving the town the name Gatlinburg. Even though the town bore his name, Gatlin, who didn't arrive in the flats until around 1854, constantly bickered with his neighbors. By 1857, a full-blown feud had erupted between the Gatlins and the Ogles, probably over Gatlin's attempts to divert the town's main road. The eve of the U.S. Civil War found Gatlin, who became a Confederate sympathizer, at odds with the residents of the flats, who were mostly pro-Union, and he was forced out in 1859.

Despite its anti-slavery sentiments, Gatlinburg, like most Smoky communities, tried to remain neutral during the war. This changed when a company of Confederate Colonel William Holland Thomas' Legion occupied the town to protect the saltpeter mines at Alum Cave, near the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Federal forces marched south from Knoxville and Sevierville to drive out Thomas' men, who had built a small fort on Burg Hill. Lucinda Oakley Ogle, whose grandfather witnessed the ensuing skirmish, later recounted her grandfather's recollections:

... he told me about when he was a sixteen-year-old boy during the Civil War and would hide under a big cliff on Turkey Nest Ridge and watch the Blue Coats ride their horses around the graveyard hill, shooting their cannon toward Burg Hill where the Grey Coats had a fort and would ride their horses around the Burg Hill ...

As the Union forces converged on the town, the outnumbered Confederates were forced to retreat across the Smokies to North Carolina. Confederate forces did not return, although sporadic small raids continued until the end of the war.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.1 square miles (26 km2), all of which is land. It is surrounded on all sides by high ridges, with the Le Conte and Sugarland Mountain massifs rising to the south, Cove Mountain to the west, Big Ridge to the northeast, and Grapeyard Ridge to the east. The main watershed is the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River, which flows from its source on the slopes of Mount Collins to its junction with the Little Pigeon at Sevierville.

U.S. Route 441 is the main traffic artery in Gatlinburg, running through the center of town from north to south. Farther along 441, Pigeon Forge is approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) to the north, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park (viz. the Sugarlands) is approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) to the south. TN-73 (Little River Road) forks off from 441 in the Sugarlands and heads west for roughly 25 miles (40 km), connecting the Gatlinburg area with Townsend and Blount County. U.S. Route 321 enters Gatlinburg from Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley to the north before turning east and connecting the city to Newport and Cosby.

Gatlinburg has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen: Cfa) with hot, humid summers and cool, wet winters. Precipitation is heavy year round, peaking in the months of May–July, with October being the driest month, with only 3.19 inches (81 mm) of average precipitation. Snowfall is lower in the valley, averaging about 8 inches (20 cm) of annual snowfall.

Economy

As the gateway community for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg is an important tourist destination in Tennessee, with many man-made attractions. The Gatlinburg Trolley, a privately funded public transit system, caters to area tourists. The Gatlinburg SkyLift takes visitors up 1,800 feet (550 m) to the top of Crockett Mountain, to the longest footbridge in the US which spans two mountains.

Ober Mountain is the only ski resort in the state. It has eight ski trails, three chair lifts, and a wildlife encounter area and is accessible by road or aerial tramway. Originally known as Ober Gatlinburg, it was rebranded following its purchase in 2022 by local entrepreneur Joe Baker.

Gatlinburg Space Needle provides views of the Smoky Mountains.

The Gatlinburg Arts and Crafts Community is an 8-mile (13 km) loop located on the north side of town that focuses on preserving traditional mountain crafts.

The Ripley's group of attractions includes Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies and a number of themed exhibits.

Theme parks Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country—both named for Dolly Parton—are located in nearby Pigeon Forge.

Museums include the Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers.

Gatlinburg has numbered intersections in the core of the town. The numbers hang from traffic lights or signs and are written on official tourist maps.

Education

Sevier County School District is the sole school district in the county.

Schools include:

Gatlinburg-Pittman High School

Gatlinburg-Pittman Junior High School

Pi Beta Phi Elementary School

Pittman Center Elementary School

Notable people

Felice and Boudleaux Bryant: Songwriting duo, who lived in Gatlinburg from 1978 onward, where they wrote numerous songs such as Rocky Top. They lived in the Gatlinburg Inn, and afterwards in The Bryant House which still hosts a museum with their belongings.

Travis Meadows (born 1965): A country music singer and songwriter who has written songs for stars like Eric Church, Wynonna Judd and Dierks Bentley, Meadows started his songwriting career while living in Gatlinburg.

John Reagan (1818–1905): Born in Gatlinburg, Reagan moved to Texas as an adult and became a career politician who served in the Texas House of Representatives, the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and as Postmaster General and Secretary of the Treasury for the Confederate States of America.