A history of Pigeon Forge,
then and now
Postcards, papers and photographs of Pigeon Forge from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗The name "Pigeon Forge" comes from an iron forge built by Isaac Love (1783–1854) some time around 1820. The name of this forge referred to its location along the Little Pigeon River, in the vicinity of what became the Old Mill. The name of the river comes from the flocks of passenger pigeons that frequented its banks when the first Euro-American settlers arrived.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Pigeon Forge’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewFort Weare Game Park, Pigeon Forg…, c. 1930: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Pigeon Forge, decade by decade
1970s
1990s
1 historic place in Pigeon Forge
1 place in Pigeon Forge is on the National Register of Historic Places, the country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
Where they are
When they were listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Fort Weare Game Park, Pigeon Forge, Tennessee (85645) (c. 1930) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (12). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.