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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.
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