History

the walker sister place and the sisters

The Sisters Who Lived Inside the Smoky Mountains Park for 20 Years

The Walker Sisters Place and the women who lived within, surviving off of the land, selling trinkets to tourists In the Great Smoky Mountains, history is often found in the hollers, in the lingering crannies found in the shadow of giant mountain ridges. It’s in these historic places that the great passage of time, which in our everyday lives is

a cabin on a lake

The Effort to Turn Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountains Into a Lake

In the 1930s, official plans were drawn up to turn the Cove into a reservoir Driving along the edges of East Tennessee’s lakes, there are signs that things are not always as they have been. Decaying grain silos rise inexplicably from the water and ancient roads and trails lead down to lakebeds without turning. In the days before the Tennessee Valley Authority,

a pinkish purple lake

The Legend Of Atagahi – A Hidden Lake In The Smoky Mountains

According to Cherokee legend, the enchanted lake only reveals itself to those who are pure of heart The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is dotted with well-preserved conclaves of cabins and barns. And the occasional mill or silo. Places like Cades Cove or Greenbrier or Roaring Fork serve as reminders of life in the mountains in the decades leading up

remnants from the fugitive's train wreck scene

24 Movies You Didn’t Know Were Filmed in the Smoky Mountains

A local movie buff offers a list (and commentary) of movies filmed in and around the Smoky Mountains Last summer, my daughter and I traveled to Atlanta to see John Mulaney perform. We had a little time to burn and decided to swing by the Marriott Marquis downtown, which was used as one of the main locations for the Marvel TV

downtown gatinburg today and ogles general store circa 1923

The Ogles vs the Gatlins: The Odd Family Feud That Built Gatlinburg

Gatlinburg was named after a disliked man who lived there for less than 10 years Gatlinburg really should be Oglesburg, Oglesville or maybe Oglestown. I mean, at least, White Oak Flats. The town that became Gatlinburg, you see, was first settled by a South Carolinian named William Ogle in 1802. As one of the first settlers, Ogle found his “Land

popcorn sutton and his likker

How a Man Named Popcorn Became an Unlikely Appalachian Hero, Icon

Popcorn Sutton always said his name, his legacy and his moonshine would outlive him. He was right. Obscured by the brightly lit neon tourist attractions in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, there is a deeper truth about the mountains that I’ve called home for the better part of the last 35 years. It’s a truth we don’t market to tourists or

dolphins at porpoise island

Remembering Porpoise Island, a dolphin-themed park in Pigeon Forge

The ill-fated Polynesian-themed attraction that barely lasted a decade in the Smoky Mountains They imported people from Hawaii and tame deer from “all over the world.” The porpoises? They lived in Mississippi, of course. Children, I’m going to tell you a tale. I certainly wouldn’t blame you a bit if, in the end, you called me a liar. Indeed, I might

a man looks upon the biltmore estate from afar

13 Movies Filmed at the Famous Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC

A movie fanatic ranks famous flicks filmed at Biltmore Estate in Asheville In Selma, the muddy and mighty Alabama River curves under the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge where the infamous Sunday Civil Rights March took place. I worked in one of those buildings, next to the bridge. Working next to an iconic location you get used to a few things, including

Ogle's Waterpark in TN

These Photos of Ogle’s Waterpark Will Take You Down Memory Lane

Local recalls everything that made Ogle’s so special in Pigeon Forge Ogle’s Waterpark in Pigeon Forge was once the largest waterpark in the area with six giant water sides, a wave pool, a kid’s play area and snack stations throughout the park. For three decades, it served as a beacon summoning tourists and locals to frolic in the East Tennessee

water boggan blue and yellow slide - old attraction in pigeon forge tn

There Used To Be a Huge Slide in Pigeon Forge Called the Water Boggan

Local reminisces on old Water Boggan attraction in Pigeon Forge As an East Tennessee local, I’ve seen plenty of Pigeon Forge attractions that have come and gone. Some were products of the time. It was the 70s and 80s. So if you could talk someone into financing it, you could make it a reality. I think, looking back, not every