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1956 Map of Pigeon Forge

Name: 1956 Topographic Map of Pigeon Forge
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1973
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1973

About this map

Sevierville serves as the northern anchor of this landscape, situated at the confluence where the Little Pigeon River meets its forks. The terrain transitions from the river bottoms to the steep, wooded slopes of Pine Mountain and Walden Ridge in the south. The development pattern reflects a transition period in the mid-20th century, with the expansion of Pigeon Forge visible along the West Prong Little Pigeon River. Purple revisions from 1970 illustrate the early growth of tourism infrastructure, including the Gatlinburg Golf Course and the Sevier-Gatlinburg Airport.

Local history and family genealogy are well-represented through numerous rural landmarks such as McMahan Cem, Shiloh Mem Cem, and Henderson Chapel. Small communities like New Era, Norton, and McCookville are connected by a network of hollows including Cain Hollow and Possum Hollow. The map captures the area before the intense commercialization of later decades, showing a mix of established town centers and traditional mountain agriculture.