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Photo courtesy of Jim R. Rogers via FlickrGlassmaking at Dollywood, which showcases the old-time crafts and lifestyle of Appalachian folk.
Pigeon Forge, Tenn., was a lush farming community that got its name from now-extinct passenger pigeons, which once were so numerous they darkened the valley’s skies, and for a forge that was built in 1817 alongside the Little Pigeon River.
The city’s transformation into a tourist mecca began with the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park just a few miles away, first envisioned with a bill signed in 1926 by President Calvin Coolidge and finally dedicated in 1940 by President Franklin Roosevelt.
Pigeon Forge was mostly unscathed by the wildfires that in November 2016 devastated its sister city, Gatlinburg. The roughly 16,000 acres of wildfires killed 14 people and destroyed or damaged more than 2,400 vacation cabins and other structures.
But no businesses in Pigeon Forge were damaged. And Dollywood, the city’s largest employer, offered three new attractions in 2017: Drop Line, a 200-foot tall free-fall experience; Whistle Punk Chaser, a new junior coaster; and TailSpin Racer, a tube ride at Dollywood’s Splash Country.