gatlinburg tennessee

History

The area including the modern city of Gatlinburg was originally used primarily as hunting grounds by the Cherokee indians, though it was sparsely populated by various indian peoples. Founded as "White Oak Flats" (due to the large number of white oak trees in the area), the first white settlers in the vicinity of today's community arrived at the turn of the 19th century, largely Revolutionary War veterans given 50-acre tracts of land in turn for their service in the war. It is commonly accepted that the widowed Martha Jane Huskey Ogle was the first official white settler, bringing her seven children over from South Carolina to live in an area her late husband had described to her as a paradise. Most of the original homesteads arose along LeConte Creek (then known as Mill Creek), Baskins Creek, and Roaring Fork Creek, including the Ogles', whose homestead still stands today. The community's name was officially changed to Gatlinburg in 1855 by the local postmaster in honor of Radford. C. Gatlin, for allowing the post office to be located in his prosperous store. Though the town still bears his namesake, Gatlin was quite unpopular in the town and eventually forced to leave the area after only a few short years of residence[1]. For the first one-hundred years of its settlement, the town maintained a traditional mountain subsistence farming economy, until the beginning of the 20th century, when logging became a prosperous industry in the region. Concerns over this growing industry, combined with a great appreciation for the natural environment of the area, led to local, and eventually federal, government procuring nearby land to create a new national park in the east. The creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934 marked the beginning of the now omnipresent tourism industry in Gatlinburg, which today dominates the local economy[2].

On the night of July 14, 1992, Gatlinburg earned national attention when an entire city block burned to the ground, due to faulty wiring in a light fixture. The "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" museum was consumed by the fire, along with an arcade, haunted house, and souvenir shop. The blaze was fortunately stopped before it could consume the adjacent 32-story Space Needle, which would have been disastrous. The block, known to locals as "Rebel Corner", was completely rebuilt and reopened to visitors in 1995. Few artifacts from the Ripley's Museum were salvaged. Those that were salvaged are clearly marked with that designation in the new museum. The fire prompted new downtown building codes and a new downtown fire station. Believe it or not, Ripley's has caught fire twice since its reopening, once in 2000, and again in 2003. Both of those fires, co-incidentally, were caused by faulty light fixtures. The 2000 fire caused no damage. The 2003 fire was contained to the building's exterior and the museum suffered minimal damage, primarily cosmetic.

Geography

Gatlinburg is located at 35°43′19″N, 83°29′58″W (35.721925, -83.499334)^GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 26.3 km² (10.1 mi²) 26.3 km² (10.1 mi²) of it is land and none of the area is covered with water.

Demographics

As of the 2000 census^GR2, there were 3,382 people, 1,541 households, and 990 families residing in the city. The population density was 128.8/km² (333.4/mi²). There were 3,993 housing units at an average density of 152.0/km² (393.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 95.71% White, 0.15% African American, 0.56% Native American, 1.71% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.86% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.95% of the population.

There were 1,541 households out of which 17.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.5% were married couples living together, 9.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.64.

In the city the population was spread out with 14.9% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 32.8% from 45 to 64, and 20.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,606, and the median income for a family was $40,813. Males had a median income of $24,283 versus $19,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,678. 7.1% of the population and 5.8% of families were below the poverty line. 13.4% of those under the age of 18 and 6.7% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Gatlinburg in popular culture

• Bill Bryson visited Gatlinburg during his hike of the Appalachian Trail. He was less than impressed with the city, although he wrote that he loved the city all the same. His opinions of the city are documented in A Walk in the Woods. An earlier visit is also described in The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America.
• The protagonist of Cormac McCarthy's novel, Suttree, takes a bus to Gatlinburg to ring in a new disillusionment with Nature and her terrible, orgiastic radiance in the mountains.
• Gatlinburg has been mentioned in several country music songs, including Shel Silverstein's "A Boy Named Sue" and Ronnie Milsap's "Smoky Mountain Rain."

On an unrelated note, Gatlinburg was also the scene of the "Tattoo Eddie" murders.

Tourism

Gatlinburg is a key tourism destination in Tennessee. It not only contains many man-made attractions but borders the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Ober Gatlinburg [3] serves as both a ski resort and an amusement park. Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country which are both run by Dolly Parton and are located in Pigeon Forge, are nearby amusement parks. A tabulation of the most researched honeymoon locations listed Gatlinburg at a surprising high position - third, behind only Hawaii and Tahiti.

A few music and family-oriented theaters make their homes in Gatlinburg as well, including Elwood Smooch's Ole Smoky Hoedown [4], a comedy show aimed at families, and the Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre [5], which hosts a musical comedy. There is also the Smoky Mountain Jubilee [6], offering music in multiple genres, comedy, and mountain clogging.

External links

• Gatlinburg Department of Tourism
• Guide to Gatlinburg TN

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 35.721925° -83.499334°
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