Gatlinburg, Tennessee
Gatlinburg has burgeoned into a popular tourist destination due to the inception of the GSMNP, which borders the community.
Nickname: "Gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains"[1]
Location in Sevier County, Tennessee
U.S. Census Map
Coordinates: 35°43′19″N 83°29′58″W / 35.72194, -83.49944
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
County	Sevier
Government
- Mayor	Mike Werner (D)
Area
- Total	10.1 sq mi (26.3 km²)
- Land	10.1 sq mi (26.3 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0 km²)
Elevation	1,289 ft (393 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	3,382
- Density	333.4/sq mi (128.8/km²)
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	37738
Area code(s)	865
FIPS code	47-28800GR2
GNIS feature ID	1647737GR3
Website: http://www.ci.gatlinburg.tn.us/index.html

Gatlinburg is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, with a total population of 3,828, as of the 2000 U.S. census. The city is a popular vacation resort, as it rests on the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S. Highway 441, which connects Gatlinburg to Cherokee, North Carolina through the national park. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 297 KB) Summary Gatlinburg, Tennessee has burgeoned into a popular tourist destination since the formation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which borders the community. ... EXAMPLE:Laughbox,Blondie,BamBam,Pinkie,etc. ... Image File history File links Adapted from Wikipedias TN county maps by Seth Ilys. ... Sevier County (pronounced severe) is a U.S. county of the state of Tennessee, United States. ... This article is about the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... 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Sevier County (pronounced severe) is a U.S. county of the state of Tennessee, United States. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... This article is about the physical quantity. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ... 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Image:1870 census Lindauer Weber 01. ... Cades Cove panorama The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. ... U.S. Highway 441 is a spur of U.S. Highway 41. ... Cherokee is a town in Swain County, North Carolina. ... This article is about national parks. ...

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. The United States Census Bureau (officially Bureau of the Census as defined in Title ) is a part of the United States Department of Commerce. ... A square metre (US spelling: square meter) is by definition the area enclosed by a square with sides each 1 metre long. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ...

Gatlinburg is hemmed in on all sides by high ridges, with the Le Conte and Sugarland Mountain massifs rising to the south, Cove Mountain to the west, Big Ridge to the northeast, and Grapeyard Ridge to the east. The main watershed is the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River, which flows from its source on the slopes of Mount Collins to its junction with the Little Pigeon at Sevierville.[1] In geology, a massif is a section of a planets crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. ... The Little Pigeon River is a scenic stream of Sevier County in East Tennessee. ... The summit of Mount Collins, looking west from Newfound Gap Road Mount Collins is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. ...

U.S. Route 441 is the main traffic artery in Gatlinburg, running through the center of town from north to south. Along 441, Pigeon Forge is approximately 6 miles to the north, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (viz, the Sugarlands) is approximately 2 miles to the south. TN-73 (Little River Road) forks off from 441 in the Sugarlands and heads east for roughly 25 miles, connecting the Gatlinburg area with Townsend and Blount County. U.S. Route 321 enters Gatlinburg from Pigeon Forge and Wears Valley to the north before turning east, connecting Gatlinburg with Newport and Cosby.[2] Pigeon Forge is a city located in Sevier County, Tennessee. ... The Sugarlands, looking northwest from Bull Head. ... Townsend is a town located in Blount County, Tennessee. ... Blount County is a U.S. county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. ... This U.S. Highway article needs to be cleaned up to conform to both a higher standard of article quality and accepted design standards outlined in the WikiProject U.S. Highways. ... Wears Valley, with Roundtop Mountain rising in the distance Wears Valley is an unincorporated community in Sevier County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. ... Newport is a city in Cocke County, Tennessee, United States. ... Cosby, Tennessee Cosby is an unincorporated community in Cocke County, Tennessee. ...

History

Early History

The Ogle Cabin in Gatlinburg

For centuries, Cherokee hunters (and Native American hunters pre-dating the Cherokee) used a footpath known as the Indian Gap Trail to access the abundant game in the forests and coves of the Smokies.^[2] This trail connected the Great Indian Warpath with the Rutherford Indian Trace, following the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River from modern-day Sevierville through modern-day Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and the Sugarlands, crossing the crest of the Smokies along the slopes of Mount Collins, and descending into North Carolina along the banks of the Oconaluftee.^[3] US-441 largely follows this same route today, although it crests at Newfound Gap rather than Indian Gap. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Cherokee (disambiguation). ... The Great Indian Warpath, Great Indian War and Trading Path, or Seneca Trail was that part of the network of trails in eastern North America developed and used by Native Americans which ran through the Great Appalachian Valley . ... Sevierville is a city located in Sevier County, Tennessee, and is its county seat6. ... Pigeon Forge is a city located in Sevier County, Tennessee. ... Newfound Gap (elevation 5048 ft/1539 m), is a gap (mountain pass) in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the US. Bordering Tennessee and North Carolina, the middle of the state line runs through the gap, as does U.S. Highway 441, on its way through the Great Smoky Mountains National...

While various 18th century European and early American hunters and fur trappers probably traversed or camped in the flats where Gatlinburg is now situated, it was Edgefield, South Carolina native William Ogle (1751-1803) who first decided to permanently settle in the area.^[4] With the help of the Cherokee, Ogle cut, hewed, and notched logs in the flats, planning to erect a cabin the following year.^[5] He returned home to Edgefield to retrieve his family and grow one final crop for supplies. Shortly after his arrival in Edgefield, however, a malaria epidemic swept the low country, and Ogle succumbed in 1803.^[6] His widow, Martha Jane Huskey Ogle (1756-1827), moved the family to Virginia, where she had relatives. Sometime around 1806, Martha Ogle and her brother, Peter Huskey, made the journey over the Indian Gap Trail to what is now Gatlinburg, where William's notched logs awaited them.^[7] Shortly after their arrival, they erected a cabin near the confluence of Baskins Creek and the West Fork of the Little Pigeon.^[8] The cabin still stands today near the heart of Gatlinburg.^[9] Edgefield is a town located in Edgefield County, South Carolina. ... For other uses, see Log cabin (disambiguation). ... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. ...

In the decade following the arrival of the Ogles and Huskeys in what came to be known as White Oak Flats, a steady stream of settlers moved into the area.^[10] Most of these settlers were veterans of the American Revolution or War of 1812 who had converted into deeds the 50-acre tracts they had received for service in war.^[11] Among these early settlers were Timothy Reagan (c. 1750-1830), John Ownby, Jr. (1781-1869), and Henry Bohanon (1760-1842).^[12][13] Their descendants still live in the area today.^[14] This article is about military actions only. ... This article is about the U.S. – U.K. war. ...

Radford Gatlin and the Civil War

In 1856, a post office was established in the general store of Radford Gatlin (c. 1798-1880), thus giving the town the name "Gatlinburg".^[15] Despite the town bearing his namesake, Gatlin, who had only arrived in the flats around 1854, constantly bickered with his neighbors.^[16] By 1857, a full-blown feud had erupted between the Gatlins and the Ogles, probably over Gatlin's attempts to divert the town's main road. The eve of the U.S. Civil War found Gatlin, a Confederate sympathizer, wildly at odds with the residents of the flats, who were predominantly pro-Union, and he was forced out sometime in 1859.^[17] The American Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 until 1865 between the northern states, popularly referred to as the U.S., the Union, the North, or the Yankees; and the seceding southern states, commonly referred to as the Confederate States of America, the CSA, the Confederacy... Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... In this map:  Union states prohibiting slavery  Union territories  Border states on the Union side which allowed slavery  Kansas, which entered and fought with the Union as a free state after the Bleeding Kansas crisis  The Confederacy  Confederate claimed and sometimes held territories During the American Civil War, the Union...

In spite of its anti-slavery sentiments, Gatlinburg, like most Smoky Mountain communities, tried to remain neutral during the war. This changed when Confederate commander Colonel Will Thomas occupied the town in an attempt to protect the salt peter mines at Alum Cave, near the Tennessee-North Carolina border. Federal forces marched south from Knoxville and Sevierville to dislodge Thomas' forces, which had erected a fort on Burg Hill.^[18] Lucinda Oakley Ogle, whose grandfather witnessed the ensuing skirmish, later recounted her grandfather's recollections: William Holland Thomas (February 5, 1805 – May 10, 1893) was a Cherokee chief and an officer in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. ... The chemical compound potassium nitrate is a naturally occurring mineral source of nitrogen. ... Alternate uses: Knoxville (disambiguation) Knoxville is a city located in Knox County, Tennessee, United States. ...

...he told me about when he was a sixteen year old boy during the Civil War and would hide under a big cliff on Turkey Nest Ridge and watch the Blue Coats ride their horses around the graveyard hill shooting their cannon toward Burg Hill where the Grey Coats had a fort and would ride their horses around the Burg Hill...^[19]

As Union forces converged, Thomas was forced to retreat back across the Smokies to North Carolina. Although the direct threat from Confederate forces was over, sporadic raids continued until the war's end.

Gatlinburg at the turn of the century

In the 1880s, the invention of the band saw and the logging railroad led to a boom in the lumber industry. As forests throughout the Southeastern United States were harvested, lumber companies were forced to push deeper into the mountain areas of the Appalachian highlands. In 1901, Colonel W.B. Townsend established the Little River Lumber Company in Tuckaleechee Cove to the west, and lumber interests began buying up logging rights to vast tracts of forest in the Smokies.^[20] US-321 in Townsend, Tennessee with Rich Mountain rising in the distance Townsend is a city in Blount County, Tennessee, located in the southeastern United States. ...

A pivotal figure in Gatlinburg at this time was Andrew Jackson Huff (1878-1949), originally of Greene County. Huff erected a sawmill in Gatlinburg in 1900,^[21] and local residents began supplementing their income by providing lodging to loggers and other lumber company officials.^[22] Tourists also began to trickle into the area, drawn to the Smokies by the writings of authors such as Mary Noailles Murfree and Horace Kephart, who wrote extensively of the region's natural wonders. Greene County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. ... Horace Kephart (1862-1931) was an American travel writer and librarian, best known as the author of Our Southern Highlanders, about his life in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. ...

In 1912, the Pi Beta Phi women's fraternity established a settlement school in Gatlinburg after a survey of the region found the town to be most in need of educational facilities.^[23] While skeptical locals were initially worried that the Pi Phis might be religious propagandists or opportunists, the school's enrollment grew from 33 to 134 in its first year of operation.^[24] Along with providing basic education to children in the area, the school's staff managed to create a small market for local crafts. Pi Beta Phi (ΠΒΦ) is an international fraternity for women founded as I.C. Sorosis on April 28, 1867, at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. ...

The journals and letters of the Pi Beta Phi settlement school's staff are a valuable source of information regarding daily life in Gatlinburg in the early 1900s. Phyllis Higinbotham, a nurse from Toronto who worked at the school for six years, wrote of the mountain peoples' confusion over the role of a nurse, their penchant for calling on her over minute issues, and her difficulties with Appalachian customs:

I soon found that people weren't used to hurrying, and that it takes a long time of patient waiting and general conversation to find out what they have really come for, or to get a history of the cases when making a visit. I have had to get used to getting most of a woman's symptoms from her husband, and not having heart failure when a messenger comes with the news that so and so is "bad off", "about to die", or "got the fever."^[25]

Higinbotham complained that there was an unhealthy "lack of variety" in the mountain peoples' diet and that they weren't open to new suggestions. Food was often "too starchy," "not well cooked", and supplemented with certain excesses:

One of the doctors was called to several cases of honey poisoning. The men had robbed some bee gums, eaten a pound or two of each and been knocked unconscious where they stood.^[26]

Evelyn Bishop, a Pi Phi who arrived at the school in 1913, reported that the mountain peoples' relative isolation from American society allowed them to retain a folklore that reflected their English and Scots-Irish ancestries, such as Elizabethan Era ballads: This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Elizabethan redirects here. ...

Many times it is the ballad that the child learns first, no Mother Goose melodies are as familiar, and it is strange indeed to listen to a little tot singing of the courtly days of old, the knights and 'ladyes' and probably the tragic death of the lover.^[27]

Such isolation would draw folklorists such as Cecil Sharp of London to the area in the years following World War I.^[28] Sharp's collection of Appalachian ballads was published in 1932. Cecil James Sharp (1859-1924) was the founding father of the folklore revival in England in the early twentieth century, and many of Englands traditional dances and music owe their continuing existence to his work in recording and publishing them. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

The national park

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park comes to an abrupt end at the foot of Gatlinburg, along the popular Gatlinburg Trail

Extensive logging in the early 1900s led to increased calls by conservationists for federal action, and in 1911 Congress passed the Weeks Act to allow for the purchase of land for national forests. Authors such as Horace Kephart and Knoxville-area business interests began advocating the creation of a national park in the Smokies, similar to Yellowstone or Yosemite in the Western United States. With the purchase of 76,000 acres (310 km²) of the Little River Lumber Company tract in 1926, the movement quickly became a reality.^[29] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 1706 KB) Summary The Gatlinburg Trail literally extends to the foot of the Town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 1706 KB) Summary The Gatlinburg Trail literally extends to the foot of the Town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee and the border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. ... ‹ The template below (Expand) is being considered for deletion. ... This article is about national parks. ... Yellowstone National Park is a U.S. National Park located in the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. ... Yosemite National Park (pron. ...

Andrew Huff would spearhead the movement in the Gatlinburg area. He opened the first hotel in Gatlinburg — the Mountain View Hotel — in 1916.^[30] His son, Jack, would establish LeConte Lodge atop Mount Le Conte in 1926.^[31] In spite of resistance from lumberers at Elkmont and difficulties with the Tennessee legislature,^[32]the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was opened in 1934. Mount Le Conte (or LeConte) is a mountain in Sevier County, Tennessee located within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. ... Elkmont was a former community in the Great Smoky Mountains of far eastern Tennessee. ...

The park radically changed Gatlinburg. When the Pi Phis arrived in 1912, Gatlinburg was a small hamlet with six houses, a blacksmith shop, a general store, a Baptist Church, and a greater community of 600 individuals, most of whom lived in log cabins.^[33] In 1934, the first year of the park, an estimated 40,000 visitors passed through the city. Within a year, this number had increased exponentially to 500,000.^[34] From 1940 to 1950, the cost of land in Gatlinburg increased from $50 to $8000 per acre.^[35]

While the park's arrival benefited Gatlinburg and made many of the town's residents wealthy, the tourism explosion led to problems with air quality and urban sprawl. The town's infrastructure is often pushed to the limit on peak vacation days, and must consistently re-adapt to accommodate the growing number of tourists.^[36] The Air Quality Index (AQI) is a standardized index of the air quality in a given location, given in parts per billion. ... Urban sprawl (also: suburban sprawl) is the spreading out of a city and its suburbs over rural land at the fringe of an urban area. ...

The Fire of 1992

Downtown Gatlinburg

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 Gatlinburg 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. Ripley's has caught fire twice since its reopening, once in 2000, and again in 2003. Both of those fires, coincidentally, 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.[3] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 871 KB) Summary Gatlinburg, Tennessee as seen from the Ripleys Aquarium. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 871 KB) Summary Gatlinburg, Tennessee as seen from the Ripleys Aquarium. ... is the 195th day of the year (196th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Believe It or Not redirects here. ...

Demographics

White Oak Flats Cemetery. Gatlinburg was originally known as White Oak Flats, still remembered in few places in the resort town.

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. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 1709 KB) Summary The White Oak Flats Cemetery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is the final resting place of many of the communitys native denizens. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2592x1944, 1709 KB) Summary The White Oak Flats Cemetery in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is the final resting place of many of the communitys native denizens. ... Image:1870 census Lindauer Weber 01. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... It has been suggested that Ethnicity (United States Census) be merged into this article or section. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ... The United States Census Bureau uses the federal governments definitions of race when performing a census. ...

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. Matrimony redirects here. ...

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. The per capita income for a group of people may be defined as their total personal income, divided by the total population. ... Map of countries showing percentage of population who have an income below the national poverty line The poverty line is the level of income below which one cannot afford to purchase all the resources one requires to live. ...

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 Johnny Cash's "A Boy Named Sue" and Ronnie Milsap's "Smoky Mountain Rain." The country-singing Gatlin Brothers, however, are from Texas, and have no direct connection to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

• In September 1986, Gatlinburg was the site of the "Tattoo Eddie Murders", where two innocent hotel attendants were slain by an Atlanta man, Eddie Harris; (known as "Tattoo Eddie" due to his 134 tattoos) and three accomplices. The incident gained notoriety due to the fact that it occurred in the otherwise peaceful community.

William Bill McGuire Bryson, OBE, (born December 8, 1951) is a best-selling American-born author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on scientific subjects. ... The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. ... A Walk in the Woods is a book by Bill Bryson describing his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail with his childhood friend Katz. ... For the musician, see Cormac McCarthy (musician). ... Cormac McCarthy looks out over the river in Knoxville where Suttree is set (1979) Suttree is a semi-autobiographical novel by Cormac McCarthy, published in 1979. ... This article is about the physical universe. ... A Boy Named Sue is a country song made famous by Johnny Cash. ... Ronnie Milsap (born Ronnie Lee Milsap January 16, 1943 in Robbinsville, North Carolina) is an American Country/Pop Singer and Musician. ... Larry Gatlin (born May 2, 1948 in Seminole, Texas) is an American Country Music Singer. ... This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ...

Tourism

Gatlinburg is home to a plethora of specialty shops, most of which are designed with a rustic, mountain theme

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 ^[37] serves as both a ski resort and an amusement park. One of the more popular attractions is Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies which also features special exhibits covering subjects like the Titanic, pirates and more recently the planet Mars. Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country - which are both named after the famous Dolly Parton - are nearby amusement parks located in Pigeon Forge. Image File history File links Gatlinburg Tennessee. ... Image File history File links Gatlinburg Tennessee. ... Cades Cove panorama The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a United States National Park that straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains which are a division of the larger Appalachian Mountain chain. ... Ober Gatlinburg is a amusement park and ski area, located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. ... St. ... Dollywood is a theme park owned by country music singer Dolly Parton and Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation. ... Dollywoods Splash Country is a Smoky Mountain-themed water park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee adjacent to the Dollywood theme park. ... Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American, Grammy Award-winning country music singer/songwriter, composer, author, actress, and philanthropist. ... Pigeon Forge is a city located in Sevier County, Tennessee. ...

A few music and family-oriented theaters make their homes in Gatlinburg as well, including the Sweet Fanny Adams Theatre, which hosts a musical comedy and the Patty Waszak theater. In recent years, the number of musical shows in Gatlinburg has dwindled with several shows having gone to Pigeon Forge and its many venues.

The entire area is a mega-haven for photographers of all types and even glamour model photographers often hold national events and shoots in the region. Some of the waterfalls, streams and other locations make for some of the most outstanding natural backdrops that are available.

Many visitors also partake of locally made candy (especially taffy and fudge), as well as visit one of the ubiquitous pancake houses. During the Christmas season the entire downtown area is decorated with lights. Visitors also benefit from a free shuttle bus that traverses the city every half hour.

Other visitors to Gatlinburg have been less complimentary. British journalist Martin Fletcher wrote in his book Almost Heaven: Travels in Backwoods America (1999) of "vile Gatlinburg", noting the excess of arcades, crazy golf, and tourist trivia.

Gatlinburg Police Department

Gatlinburg Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It has a walking patrol and a bicycle patrol. Like Pigeon Forge only five miles away, Gatlinburg attracts many tourists because of attractions like Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. The officers in Gatlinburg enforce the law in town of 3,400 people and the traveling tourists.^[38][39] This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Police officers in South Australia A police officer (or policeman/policewoman) is a warranted worker of a police force. ... A typical suburban police station in the United States (this one is in San Bruno, California). ... Pigeon Forge is a city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... Created by the success of Ripleys Believe it or Not!, Ripley Entertainment Inc. ...

Personnel

The GPD consists of 55 employees. 45 police officers, 8 jailers, and 2 clerks. The departments annual budget is $3,000,000.^[38]

Gatlinburg Fire Department

The Gatlinburg Fire Department serves the town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee which has 3,400 people in a 238mi sq radius.. The fire department has many subdivisions and a rescue unit.^[40]. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into human resources. ... Fire station in Kostroma, Russia (1823-26). ... A fire engine of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, England. ... A heavy rescue vehicle, often referred to as a rescue company, rescue squad, or simply heavy rescue, is a type of specialty firefighting apparatus. ... An ambulance in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico A Helicopter used as an Ambulance. ... Fire Chief is a top executive rank in a fire department, either elected or appointed. ...

The current Fire Chief is Greg Patterson.^[41]

GFD and its subdivisions

GFD has evolved to a big department with fire rescue, EMS Ambulance services, Water and rope rescue, HAZMAT response team, Flood Warning, and Arson Investigation. ^[42]

Personnel

There are 3 fire stations. There are 39 full time employees and 25 volunteer employees.^[40]

Hydrants

The City of Gatlinburg has 504 fire hydrants. One person checks these annually. He inspects them and makes sure they function properly. He works closely with the city's water department. Fire hydrant in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA A fire hydrant (also known colloquially as a fire plug in the United States or as a johnny pump in New York City), is an active fire protection measure, and a source of water provided in most urban, suburban and rural areas with municipal...

History

The GFD was formed on September 16, 1946. It was volunteer and the chief was Ralph "Doc" Shilling, a local physician. A paid department was formed in 1969. Currently the department consists of 38 paid personnel, 22 part-time personnel, and 13 volunteers. GFD had 8 calls per year. Now they receive over 3,000 calls per year.^[43]

Major Fires

• In 1980 a fire destroyed Gatlinburg Mountain Press.^[43]
• In 1992 a fire destroyed several businesses and Rebel Corner building which attracted the national media.^[43]
• In 1993 and 94' a brush fire destroyed a home.^[43]
• In 2000 a brush fire destroyed two homes in a windstorm.^[43]

Ober Gatlinburg

Ober Gatlinburg aerial tramway

Ober Gatlinburg is an amusement park and ski area and is the only ski area in Tennessee. It has eight ski trails and three chair lifts. It is accessible via roads and a gondola from the city strip. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 420 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gatlinburg, Tennessee ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 420 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Gatlinburg, Tennessee ... Ober Gatlinburg is a amusement park and ski area, located in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. ... A shaped, twin-tip alpine ski. ...

References

External links

• City Of Gatlinburg Homepage
• Ober Gatlinburg Homepage
• Gatlinburg Department of Tourism
• Downtown Gatlinburg Live Streaming Web Camera

Coordinates: 35.721925° N 83.499334° W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...