Pigeon Forge is located in the heart of the beautiful valley . . . in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains . . . The towering peaks of Mt. LeConte dominate the southern horizon.” The name ‘Pigeon’ came from the river and the river’s name from passenger pigeons, so named because of their passing from one part of the country to another in immense flocks, Pioneer settlers reported that these beautifully colored birds, now extinct, were so numerous that they darkened the sky as they flew into the valley and that the trees were stripped of limbs by the weight of their great numbers, according to an excerpt from The Birds of North America by Jacob Studer.

The Forge part of the name comes from a booming ‘forge’ built in 1817 by Isaac Love. This was a site near the present Old Mill. With its first business being iron and furnace forge, Pigeon Forge has progressed 10 fold from pioneer town to profitable town Sitting on land that was once Cherokee hunting Ground, a 1700’s treaty opened the valley up for settlement. Mordecai Lewis was a Pigeon Forge pioneer who received a 151-acre land grant and built the now historic Old Mill around 1790. In 1849, the mill (or forge tract) was purchased by Mr. John Sevier Trotter who sold it to Mr. John Marshall McMahan. Mr. John Marshall McMahan sold one fourth of the mill interest to A.T. Householder in December of 1900. His transfer deed mentioned a sawmill, gristmill and a carding machine. The Forge that gave Pigeon Forge its name was dismantled sometime before 1884. Some believe it was moved to Kentucky. The five hundred pound hammer used in the forge was preserved. The hammer was displayed at the Forge Hammer Grill owned and operated by Henry and Fannie Butler. Forge Hammer Grill later became Butler’s Farm Restaurant and, finally, the Apple Tree Inn. For years, a live apple tree grew inside the dining area of the restaurant. It was first owned by Dick and Mildred Bunting and is now in the hands of Garnett Cole and her son Kyle. The forge’s hammer continued to remain on display at the Apple Tree Inn for many years. It is still in the possession of the Cole Family.