History of Gatlinburg TN

History of Gatlinburg TN

Gatlinburg TN is surrounded on three sides by the Great Smokey Mountain National Park.  It was first named White Oaks Flat for its many white oak trees in the valley. It was settled in the early 1800s by English, Scottish, Irish, and Scottish-Irish immigrants. Martha Jane Huskey Ogle is believed to be the first official settler. She came with her family to start a new life in what her husband had described as a “Land of Paradise” in what is now East Tennessee.  Many Revolutionary War veterans came to claim title to 50 acre tracts of land allotted to each for their patriotic service. The first homesteads were located at the mouths of Baskins Creek, LeConte Creek (then called Mill Creek for its numerous grist mills), and Roaring Fork Creek, where each joined the Little Pigeon River. In 1855, Radford C. Gatlin came here and opened the village's second store. Although Gatlin was a controversial figure who was eventually banished from the community, the city still bears his name.  The city is not called Gatlinburg.  When the Civil War erupted, a number of locals joined the Union and a few went to the Confederacy, but most mountain people tried to remain neutral. Although only one Civil War battle was fought here, countless raids were made upon the area by both sides to gather vital resources needed to sustain the war efforts. Deprivation and hardship persisted in the area long after the war.

In the early 1800s parents paid for their children to go to school. The first public school was established around the time of the Civil War. A settlement school was established by the Pi Beta Phi Fraternity in 1912. This institution not only provided academic and practical education for children, it also contributed to the rebirth of Appalachian arts and crafts and the “cottage craft industry” movement.

Timbering began replacing farming in the early 1900s as the primary economy base. Gatlinburg TN’s first hotel was built to accommodate traveling lumber buyers. In the 1930s, the national park and tourism helped the area’s economy to pick up. Many families moved to town after being displaced by the park and took jobs at new hotels and other service facilities. World War II slowed the growth of Gatlinburg, but at its end the tourists began coming back. Incorporated in 1945, Gatlinburg TN has since developed into a four-season resort and convention center offering many accommodations such as Gatlinburg cabins.