Excerpt from my git2know.com website:
Just like the welcome sign says, Pigeon Forge really is the hub of family vacation fun in this area.
My little pocket dictionary defines a 'hub' as centre of activity for the region, network...". That sounds like a good description of why this vacation hot-spot draws everyone to its streets looking for fun .
This region is often described as the Gateway to the Smokies, and rightly so. You should think of this Gateway as the three cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg. Visitors often mistake one city for another. It's easy to do if you are not familar with the area. However, each has it's own high school, Chamber of Commerce, public parks, and police department, and each compete for the tourism. Many years ago, each town was connected by not much more than dirt roads. But as each one has grown and expanded, you might say they have blended together in spots.
By far the best way to get around in Pigeon Forge, other than walking, is the Fun Time Trolley. It will only cost you 50¢ to take the Trolley in Pigeon Forge, and 75¢ all the way to Gatlinburg. You can just set back relax.
Pioneer Issac Love is the man, however who established an iron forge here back in the 1820s, where the three prongs of The Little Pigeon River forge together. They say that the three prongs of the river was frequented by passenger pigeons. Get it? Pigeons + Forge = Pigeon Forge?
Well, anyways it's a heck of a lot easier to say 'Pigeon Forge' than "The place where pigeons frequent down by the three prongs of the little river". Works for me!
His son, William, evidently had an entrepreneurial spirit. He dammed up the Little Pigeon and built a mill. It was the center of activity for the area. During the Civil War, it had a loom to make clothing articles for soldiers.
These days, you can visit The Old Mill and find dozens of different kinds of old-fashioned products like jams, sorghum, country hams, bacon, fudge, and various Old Mill souvenirs. Well, that's probably more than enough of a history lesson for now. Let's just say that The Old Mill is the hub at the center of the Hub!
Quick Tips:
Start early with each new destination. You never know what will slow you down, traffic, off-the-beaten-path eyecatchers, etc.Best Way To Get Around:
The Fun Time Trolley