This Classic Attraction And Its Complex Are Links to the History of the Smoky Mountains

Many Smoky Mountain Attractions Sell Themselves As Historic or Use Historic Theming, but the Old Mill Is the Real Deal

In the Smoky Mountains, history sells. Countless attractions try to grab visitors’ attention by overplaying their connections to history. They may borrow the history of someone or something local or create a theme around a historic figure or place that has nothing to do with the modern-day attraction. But the Old Mill in Pigeon Forge has an ironclad historical link dating back to 1830. Its roots go back to the founding of Pigeon Forge.

IN THIS ARTICLE

Before the Mill

If you can say one thing about the European descendants who settled in the mountains, it is that they had a way with names. In 1786, John Sevier – future governor of Tennessee – encouraged settlers from Virginia to make their way west. Among them was a man named Mordecai Lewis, who by 1794 was appointed both Sevier County coroner and justice of the peace. Upwardly mobile, in 1807, Lewis acquired a land grant along the Little Pigeon River. In the coming decades, his grandson would build a gristmill on part of the 151 acres owned by his grandfather.

Lewis died in 1817, leaving the lands to his also immaculately named son-in-law Issac Love. Love – recognizing the value of the nearby land in which Iron Ore was readily available, he built a forge, using local timber to create charcoal to burn and the river’s flow to power the forge’s large hammer. Pigeon Forge draws part of its name from Issac’s life’s work.

The Mill Was Built and Ran for Decades

In 1830, Issac’s son William and his brothers built the Lewis Mill on the banks of the river. The mill, named after their grandfather’s least interesting name, provided ground corn for the community. The quality of the work lasted generations.

The mill became home to the first post office and William Love was appointed postmaster. The community was named Pigeon Forge for the massive flocks of Passenger Pigeons and Mordecai’s Forge.

In 1859, the mill passed from the Love and Lewis families when John Sevier Trotter became the owner. He built and operated a sawmill on the land, milling lumber for what would become a covered bridge known as Trotter’s Ford.

In 1861, as the Civil War began, Trotter, like many in the mountains of East Tennessee, was a Unionist. He used the 2nd floor of the mill to set up knitting looms to make clothing for Union soldiers. There was a hospital on the 3rd floor. Honestly, if the 2nd floor was that big of a secret, you’d think they’d put the hospital on the second floor and the looms above.

In 1875, a flash flood tore the wheel off the mill and destroyed Trotter’s bridge. The bridge was replaced by a steel bridge that would last until 1920. However, it was also destroyed in flooding that washed the water wheel downstream. In 1921 – and for the next 12 years – the mill’s water wheel provided electricity to Pigeon Forge. In 1933, Sevierville began providing Pigeon Forge’s electricity.

The Great Depression hit hard and the ownership of the mill fell to the Bank of Sevierville. Eventually, Fred Stout bought the mill in 1933, and it stayed in the Stout family for 62 years. The mill’s original grinding stones lasted until 1977. Guided tours of the mill are available Tuesdays through Fridays.

Pigeon Forge Pottery

In the ’40s, renowned potter Douglas Ferguson figured the local clay was good for pottery work. So, he bought a 100-year-old tobacco barn built by John Trotter and opened Pigeon Forge Pottery, building his home next to it. Born in 1921 in Bald Creek, North Carolina, Fergurson lived until 1999. He and his wife, Ruth, ran the business. At one point, they had twelve potters working for them.

The Restaurant Business

In 1993, a trio of families built a restaurant known as the Cornflower next to the old mill. Two years later, the Stout family sold the Mill to two of the families that built the Cornflower. The restaurant’s name was changed to the Old Mill Restaurant. In 2003, the ownership group transformed the Ferguson home into the Pottery House Café. Meals are served on pottery made at Pigeon Forge Pottery and fresh bread is baked daily using product from the mill.

The Old Mill serves classic country fare like fried chicken, meatloaf, and more, including classic Southern breakfast options. And the Café – which is open for lunch and dinner – has a wide variety of fried foods, sandwiches, burgers and more, including steaks and chops.

The Old Mill Today

The Old Mill is a thriving complex of historic buildings, restaurants, shopping and more. In addition to the Old Mill Restaurant and the Pottery House Café, Old Mill Creamery serves homemade ice cream. Onsite shopping options include the General Store, the Pigeon River Pottery, the Candy Kitchen, the Farmhouse Kitchen and Sassafras, a boutique selling Southern fashion. Old Forge Distillery sells a variety of “hand forged” Tennessee spirits, including moonshine, gin, liquors and bourbon.

Have you visited the Old Mill complex? What did you think? Let us know in the comments. Are you planning a trip to the Smoky Mountains soon? Make sure to check out our coupons page before your trip!