Ogle, Rocky Top and Forgotten Hotels | A Short History of Early Gatlinburg Landmarks

[@ChadGallivanter]

What are your earliest memories of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge and the Smoky Mountains? I would love to hear your stories!

[@larryepling]

Going to the smokies as a kid with my grandparents while my dad was at work. I would sit on the front of the vacation lodge with my grandfather and his brother in law. Years later when I stay at vacation lodge with my wife I can still feel those memories.

[@tabithaa173]

I remember going there with my family in the late 1980s and early to mid 1990s as a little girl. I am 41 years old now. It has definitely changed since those days! I remember highlights of P.F. and Gatlinburg then were go-kart tracks, air brush t-shirt shops, World of Illusions, restaurants like Golden coral and Shoney's, etc. The towns had a more family feel then. I definitely miss that. My husband and I vacation with our own children there now and love it. The new moonshine distilleries and wine tasting places are a fun place for adults! I love the cotton candy wine sold in Gatlinburg. However, I think the area is becoming saturated with bars and it's slowly losing its family feel. My husband & I visited & rode Fun Mountain park chairlift in the late '90s before it was closed and abandoned. Sad it's all abandoned now. I will always love the area though and keep memories from there from my childhood in my heart.

[@charlesbrown2587]

During the Knoxville World Fair of 1982, my family (convened from SC, GA, and LA) stayed in Gatlinburg, due to alleged price gouging of Knoxville lodging facilities. It was a blessing in disguise. I distinctly recall the sumptuous country breakfast at the Mountain View Hotel, which consisted of country ham, eggs, grits, and biscuits with hot brewed coffee. The server revealed that a $30 million upgrade was required of the property with the alternative of closing it down. Sadly, it closed. An amusement park followed with a brief lifespan. As Chad so eloquently reported, it now stands abandoned. I am thankful not only for the tasty early morning meal, but more importantly, for an authentic sample of Galtinburg's history. And I have Knoxville to thank for that. LOL. PS: Thanks Chad for the walk down memory lane. This is invaluable history and needs to be recorded. You have performed a real service for the Gatlinburg community and beyond. CB.

[@ChadGallivanter]

@@charlesbrown2587 Thanks Charles!

[@matthewmelton7831]

I hate to say it but change is inevitable and progress never stops. I have a lot of great memories from the smokies. Way too many to share so hold on to your memories and never let change take that away.

[@Jiggidywig]

Mountain View Hotel was beautiful, especially to a young bride and groom on their honeymoon in 1972. The dining room, service and meals were memories not forgotten.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Mountain View would have been so nice to have experienced. Glad you have those memories and shared them with us!

[@Tornado1861]

I remember as a kid in the 80's, a domed concrete 'house of the future', Bunny Golf, The Brass Lantern restaurant, the bobsleds at Oberg, Hillbilly Golf, and the hunted mansion. Some of those things still exist.

[@ChadGallivanter]

I remember touring Xanadu, the home of the future when I was a kid. I always dreamed of living in that house.

[@BillySinnz]

I remember The Brass Lantern. It survived into the 2000's

[@mikefannon6994]

When I was a kid we lived in Kingsport. A friend of Dad's hosted out family for Sunday brunch at the Greystone every Spring for a few years up until 1963 when I was 12. I remember the biscuits & gravy and rocking on the front porch. Living in Knoxville in the early 70s I occasionally drove my little Spitfire up to Gatlinburg. There was a little bar tucked off on a sidestreet. They had a porch built over a creek where you could sip a beer & listen to local folk singers. Those were the days, my friend! Thanks for your well-done video.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Thank you!

[@2ubetty]

Greystone reminds me of Kellerman's in Dirty Dancing.

[@hannahmartin2855]

Gatlinburg might be bustling and crazy busy, but it will always hold many great memories for me and my family. My husband and I got married at Elkmont in the National park and we visit at least a few times a year as we don’t live very far away in Jonesborough TN. Also, there’s an abandoned chair lift that was a part of an old amusement park near hillbilly golf. There’s a parking lot there now but if you walk to the back you will see the chairs still there in the trees

[@MamaBearsCookingandAdventures]

I just joined your channel from YITS. Our retirement home was built up by Park Vista in 1974. We bought it in 2012. It was burned to ashes in the fires of 2016. We rebuilt it. We are spending our 2nd Christmas here now. I came here as a kid. Early on I knew the beauty and fell in love with these mountains. I'm retired now and yes, it has changed alot. But the magic in these mountains isn't just the scenery, it's the people. You did such an awesome job with this video. I'm glad to see the history shared the way you did. Thank you for sharing that with us.

[@ChadGallivanter]

MamaBears Instapot Cooking and Adventures Great to hear you’ve rebuilt. Yes the people of the Smoky Mountains and East TN in general are some of the nicest, most genuine anywhere. Thanks for watching!

[@Pappy63]

Very good video my friend! I'm watching this on the balcony (porch) of room 237 of the Gatlinburg Inn. Park Vista hotel directly in front of me at 12 o'clock. Space Needle at 1 o'clock. I have photos of me in the pool in 1974'ish. Today I'm 57. Lots of good memories here and missing my parents.

[@paulmurphy7491]

The first time my father brought me to the city was 1955. I think the best time when the Open Harth, the Burning Bush and the Brass Langhtern were still going.

[@dianetebbe8762]

I’m not a native but my husband and I used to visit every year in the fall. I never ate in the first two restaurants that you mentioned so I knew where they were but we used to enjoy the Brass Lantern - Great soups and salads and great prices

[@pamconry2880]

In the movie A Walk In The Spring Rain there are scenes of downtown Gatlinburg and in the dining room of Open Hearth restaurant.

[@jeff121inTN]

I've been viewing all of your Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg & Smoky Mountains videos, and this by far is my favorite. My wife & I are selling our Rochester NY house & moving to Newport TN where we are building our retirement log cabin. After at least a dozen trips visiting that area, East Tennessee just feels like home to us. Thank you for posting this video, sharing the timeless history & culture of the Smoky Mountain region. It's truly a shame most of those grand hotels were lost in the name of "progress".

[@ChadGallivanter]

Thank you!

[@donnacottrell9361]

Thanks Chad.

[@timparr8656]

Very interesting Chad. Like how you include the history of Gatlinburg in the video.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Thanks Tim

[@TheGatlinburgHussey]

Beautiful!!

[@angelaosborn5928]

Started coming to gsm in 90's.brought our kids until they got married and they still go. Started bringing grandkids .our youngest grand daughter still goes. We stayed at four season on parkway. Was Ramada inn at one time.

[@birdmansrt]

Chad... I am a huge fan of Gatlinburg and have multiple history books on the area and I just wanted to say that this video is by far the historical video of the area on KZbin! I have been going with my wife and kids for close to 20 years and can honestly say that this is my favorite place! Something about those mountains is just magical!

[@ChadGallivanter]

Wesley Yes they are. Thank you for the kind words Wesley!

[@raekay8460]

Thank you for sharing I grew up in the area as well in the eighties and nineties I remember when the original Ripley's Museum burned down

[@ChadGallivanter]

I remember that fire as well.

[@sondraodell9351]

Great historic information..enjoyed the vudeo!

[@Linda-gi8pr]

I think it is a crime those beautiful pieces of history are gone !

[@ChadGallivanter]

I agree Linda!

[@TheGatlinburgHussey]

Absolutely!!!

[@WhittyPics]

My first trip to Gatlinburg was in 1979 and I miss the way it was in the 80s.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Dennis W Me too!

[@lynnwasdin3731]

William and Martha Ogle are my 5th great grandparents.

[@kristina08141]

My last name is Ogle. My dad's family is from there. I'm gonna have to do some digging. How interesting

[@draoizen9554]

I wish i had been able to go as a kid but my first time was last year and recently a few weeks ago it has changed but the soul of that place is still there and as strong as ever it is beyond beautiful. I have lived in Tennessee my whole life but that place made me love this state of mine.

[@charlesbrown2587]

Chad: I followed up with a call to the Chamber of Commerce today and was informed that the former MountainView Hotel property had been purchased by Anakeesta ("rising smoke") as an amusement hub now in operation. While the sleeping/eating quarters are gone, the memories remain. CB.

[@huskerinthehills6386]

Chad, we are a big fan of your videos. My husband is originally from Knoxville and we try to vacation in Gatlinburg every 2 years or so as his family is still in the area (we currently live in Nebraska). I can't even begin to describe how beautiful that area of the country is. Keep making great videos!

[@ChadGallivanter]

Lynn Brown Thank you Lynn. That’s very nice to hear!

[@TheGatlinburgHussey]

Hello from Gatlinburg TN! Have you been back since?

[@sherrylienable]

Loved this! Thank you

[@ChadGallivanter]

Thanks Sheri!

[@dianetebbe8762]

I enjoyed that. A lady that I used to work with and then the one Sirrius used to live in the Gatlinburg area and she went to a high school dance at the Greystone. We were both so busy those days that I never really got to sit down and talk to her about the Smokies and her life there , that was many years ago.

[@KitschyTravels]

I was just in Gatlinburg yesterday!

[@ChadGallivanter]

Kitschy Travels How crowded was it? It was really bad Monday and Tuesday last week.

[@nancyandjoel4134]

Thank you for this excellent video. Really enjoyed it.

[@lnazworth]

Nice video. My wife and I first went to Gatlinburg right after we got married, 25 years ago and have been back numerous times. It's a great area.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Yes it is. Thanks for watching!

[@mustangmadd3172]

Brother you are the hero I didnt know I needed. This was a wonderful video

[@ChadGallivanter]

Thank you Jason.

[@maryh1421]

I started going to Gatlinburg as a kid in the 50s since my mother preferred the mountains to the beach. It was a tourist trap then and it still is😂. It is such a miserable drive through the town that we now stay in Pigeon Forge which is much better. I still love the Smokies and Cades Cove. Have stayed in the Greystone and Zoders years ago.

[@RonMac08]

The Greystone was my mom's favorite place to stay while in Gatlinburg during the 50s and 60s.

[@ChadGallivanter]

RonMac08 It was a beautiful place.

[@Debb1963]

Nice video! Thanks for sharing!! 😊👍

[@vickireynolds4055]

I agree. Started coming in the 60's. Good changes and not so good changes. Ogle's, Maples and Zoder's.. Greystone, writen about by Mary Stewart. Rebel Corner. Oh, the memories! The Howard Johnson's. I hated to see the Twin Islands go. 😕

[@helgabullabong]

Think this is my new favourite film of yours! Gatlinburg is one of my favourite holiday destinations and I have been lucky enough to have had a few holidays there. Love Tennessee and especially the Smokies. The old photos were awesome and loved the history you gave us. There is a new Greystone Lodge beside the Aquarium, I guess it was named after the original? Cheers.

[@ChadGallivanter]

helga bullabong Thank you Helga! I believe the Greystone Lodge was built by the same family who built the original hotel.

[@gun6st-evan191]

back when Silver Dollar City was around. You could fire old colt navy 1851 replica pistols. one shot 1 dollar, 3 shots 5 dollars. Early 80s. Did you do that? Best part of the park, to me.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Loved Silver Dollar City as a kid!

[@A10TOES]

I lived in Gatlinburg for a short time, worked at the Hilton Hotel, The Great Smokey Mountains is second to Heaven, yes it has changed since the mid 80's when I lived there and changed again after the fires of 2016.

[@tammull8061]

So neat, thanks for sharing. I learned of your video from Will and Dawn. I’ve been visiting since 1975, now making memories with my kiddos. There’s been lots of changes but the roots run deep here.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Tam Mull Thanks for watching!

[@mikebroyles5107]

The first trip I remember was probably in 1962. Visited when we made trips to Chucks, Tn to visit relatives. We came to Gatlinburg a lot. When we got married in 76 we spent our honeymoon at Gatlinburg Inn and now come down at least once a year if not more. Remember Pidgeon Forge as a village. Ogles Market at the corner of River Road. County was dry, then private clubs, and now moonshine and whiskey, candle making shops everywhere, primitive wood work. Silver Dollar City. So many memories.

[@ChadGallivanter]

There are so many places gone that I remember from the 80s. Went to Silver Dollar City all the time!

[@nicolew101]

Thank You! We have been going to Gatlinburg for 20 years and I am always curious about old landmarks. It has changed so much in just the last 20 years and not always for the good. Still loving the mountain mall such a unique building.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Totally agree. It hasn’t always changed for the good.

[@LeveretteJamesClifford1955]

Earliest memory is in the early 1960s, with cousins from Maryville. Souvenir stands and stores sold rubber and wood tomahawks and spears .with unnatural blue, yellow and red feathers attached. I also bought a real bayonet for a British Enfield rifle which I still have. Loved stopping at The Cliff Dwellers because it bore my name. Best attraction was the wax museum located near the tourist information station not far from the Ogle Cabin. Also loved the candy shop with fresh salt water taffy. A few years later there was a place called HELL, which had ridiculous signs out from the park that said "See the Invisible Hand!" ha! And in 1980, I took my bride on our honeymoon to eat at the really fine, cosy Pioneer Inn that hung just over the side of the stream where we could sit and look at the ducks and trout when we weren't looking at each other! My wife was not interested in the tourist shops other than the mall, and we quit coming after the Pioneer Inn closed. The one thing that I remember from the late 50s and up to the 70s is that there were quaint "people sized" cozy places for tourists and travelers but they started to disappear when big tourism started and the very last time we went to Gatlinburg was in 1983 or so and had the experience of eating pancakes in the largest log cabin in the world that would seat 300. After that, we started tent camping instead of hotel visits. We never stayed in hotels in Gatlinburg but we did stay in the original Wonderland Hotel in Element, and learned what old hotels were like. Well, that's it. There is a lot more in my memories but they are about small things no one would be interested in like when I went hiking with a friend and his son and we walked Gatlinburg and my friend noticed that just about everyone had new shoes on! So we referred to Galtlinburg as the new shoe capital of the world.

[@tereztiago9133]

This was an excellent presentation.👏👏

[@michealridenoour5320]

Superb! Love this video! I grew up hiking all over the smokies and totally enjoyed the video! I also worked in Pigeonforge in the late 70s at MagicWorld & Tommy Bartletts Ski, Sky and Stage Show!💕

[@ChadGallivanter]

My mom used to take me to Tommy Bartlett’s Water Circus all the time as a kid. Some of my best memories of going to the Smokies! We also had season passes to Magic World. I loved the Magic Carpet ride and the Critter Show. Both places I’ll never forget. Do you still live in the Pigeon Forge area?

[@AdrienneS1970]

This was so sad. Too much change. Same thing happened in my hometown of Franklin, TN. Can hardly recognize it anymore. Why did they move the Ogle cabin? Were they not able to leave it on the land they owned?

[@ChadGallivanter]

The Ogle Cabin has been moved several times over the years

[@AdrienneS1970]

@@ChadGallivanter yes, that’s what you said in the video. I was just curious as to why they even had to move it the first time...

[@staleenacollins5440]

My first time visiting end of July 2020 I can’t wait to come back when have more time to explore loved anakeesta there

[@graciepitt1013]

Fantastic! I love learning about the history of places I visit. And, I know a couple spots I'll be looking for next time I'm there! (I also found you from a share on the Yankee in the South page, and just subscribed.

[@ChadGallivanter]

graciepitt1013 Thank u for watching and subscribing!

[@stuckeystop]

Wish the Mountain View hotel was still around

[@herbfranklin6968]

How come you didn’t cover the riverside motel one of the first ones.

[@falconmotorsports8323]

Was just there Saturday actually…We stayed at the summit

[@TheGatlinburgHussey]

Hello from Gatlinburg

[@theedgar1959]

Thank you. I go to Pidgeon Forge Tennessee often. I was there in August. I might stay at that Inn next time. If I go there 1st week in February do you have any suggestions? God bless.

[@debbiemeeks7452]

The Gatlinburg Inn usually closes January and February and reopens sometime in March

[@theedgar1959]

@@debbiemeeks7452 .... that's not good. Thank you for the info. Do you live around there?

[@debbiemeeks7452]

No but I've been there on spring break and they've been closed sometimes they don't open till April 1st you should probably look on their website and see when they're open

[@theedgar1959]

@@debbiemeeks7452 .. Thank you.

[@ChadGallivanter]

Several of the mom and pop motels and inns close during the winter. Thanks for watching!

[@cathyblasco4497]

Sadly, I've never been to Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge. They're certainly on the bucket list! Don't you wish, sometimes, that time travel was a thing? *sigh*

[@ChadGallivanter]

Cathy Blasco All the time Cathy. All the time.

[@cathyblasco4497]

@Vulpus Vulpus Well, I live in Orlando. Plenty to do here, for sure... 😉 I just love the hills.

[@barbaraedmondson1524]

Is it older than the walker sister cabin

[@pamconry4909]

June Carter Cash and her first husband spent their honeymoon in The Gatlinburg Inn.

[@TheGatlinburgHussey]

Yes!!! You're right

[@kenpalmer985]

The old places need to be saved

[@RhondaA]

Are there any remnants left at all of the old Mountain View, like part of the foundation, stone walls, etc?

[@ChadGallivanter]

It’s pretty much all gone. Some of the stone retention walls on the property seem to have been holdovers from the Mountain View, but I don’t know that for sure. The little amusement park that operated there I believe built on top of the old hotel’s foundation.

[@robertg8875]

I noticed in jan that it seems the town views are scattered with tons of cabins especially eastgate! What a shame ! Natural beauty is leaving and greed is moving in !

[@stephietrageser4710]

Chad. My mom n I stayed in a Snowhite like motel , where by the cottages were built into the hills (in the woods) over looking stream. Don't remember name. Any info would be appreciated!

[@ChadGallivanter]

Would it have been either Trentham’s Cabins or LeConte View Cabins? They were side-by-side and made out of stone.

[@stephietrageser4710]

That is described well. I just remember it was in the woods, kinda sticking out, over looking a stream

[@stephietrageser4710]

Where can I locate a picture? I would 💕 that!

[@HeaveStarveyy]

Gatlinburg sure aint like it used to be

[@Linda-gi8pr]

Love the video and absolutely HATE what so called progress has done to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge!

[@jeremyfondo4320]

My mother in law is Dixie Ray Ogle.... And Archie would get welfare cheese, He said it was the best. That was over 40 yrs ago.

[@millienickelson1868]

Just went there after 27 years. horrible. It is rack and ruin,. so sad to see it is changed. What a disgrace. The mountains are still beautiful tho. Will never go again.

[@wantsomecoffee]

I was there this past weekend 4/2021. Drunk, high, wasted people on the Parkway. It was so sad. Actually, it’s disgraceful that the Chamber of Commerce would allow the Delta8 dispensers to set up shop. Honestly, I doubt I’ll ever return. I’m a Christian Conservative. I didn’t feel safe walking the Parkway.

[@jimmyhall4453]

Kinda sucks the history is being lost. My memory from 78 I was 8. Walking down the strip in Gatlinburg & my Dad put a dime into a machine to play a chicken in tic tac toe & lost.