History of Pigeon Forge

a sermon at what is now Shiloh Memorial Cemetery in the northern half of Pigeon Forge, where a crude log church had been erected. Among the first "tourists" to visit Pigeon Forge came for the extended revivals that were held in the Middle Creek area (on the grounds of what is now Middle Creek Methodist Church) as early as 1822. These revivals could last for weeks at a time.

In 1810, Revolutionary War veteran Mordecai Lewis obtained a 151-acre (61 ha) land grant along the Little Pigeon River near the heart of what is now Pigeon Forge. In 1817, Lewis's son-in-law, Isaac Love (1783−1854), established the iron forge for which the city was eventually named. The complex included a bloomery furnace and water-powered trip hammer to smelt and mold ore into iron bars. Love erected the Pigeon Forge Mill in 1830, and on May 29, 1841, Love's son William established a post office—which he named "Pigeon Forge"—for the mill and the small community that had developed in its vicinity. Local businessman John Sevier Trotter (1807−1884) purchased the mill and furnace in 1849, and subsequently made numerous modifications, including the addition of a sawmill. While the iron furnace was sold and relocated in the 1880s, the Pigeon Forge Mill— usually called the "Old Mill"— still stands, and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In the 1870s, a health resort was established in Pigeon Forge at Henderson Springs, adjacent to the Wear's Fort site on the town's north side. It was common during this period for the residents of large urban areas to visit mountain springs, the waters of which were thought to have health-restoring qualities.

The commercial boom

In the early