The Old Mill Plaza in Pigeon Forge Tennessee. Get off the beaten path and settle into an authentic mountain experience.
Ross the ols bridge and head to the Old Mill Square to discover the real flavors, craftsmanship, hospitality, and history of the Great Smoky Mountains. Here you’ll find a unique destination that sets the stage for an unforgettable vacation.
The Old Mill Restaurant Legendary Smoky Mountain Dining with a Riverside View Serving hearty Southern classics family-style in a beautiful historic setting, The Old Mill Restaurant’s delicious comfort food and friendly, welcoming atmosphere is loved by locals and visitors alike.
breakfast, lunch, or dinner at tables that overlook the Little Pigeon River as it flows through the water wheel of our 200-year-old mill. Wholesome ingredients, time-tested recipes, and well-honed home-cooking skills are the hallmarks of real Smoky Mountains cooking, and the ones that keep the rambling dining rooms at The Old Mill Restaurant fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, fall-off-the-bone tender country ribs, and other Southern classics.
A unique history. 1786 A westward-moving settler, Mordecai Lewis, leaves Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and settles in East Tennessee. John Sevier, the first governor of Tennessee, encouraged Virginians such as Lewis to come to this area following the Revolutionary War. In 1794, he was appointed Coroner of Sevier County as well as a Justice of the Peace.
1807Lewis makes his home along what we now know as the Little Pigeon River after receiving a land grant from Governor Blount, where he acquired a total of 151 acres along the river. His grandson would later build and operate the first gristmill.
1817 Issac Love, the son-in-law of Mordecai Lewis, inherits the land after Lewis’s death and builds an iron forge along the west branch of the river. It was a logical setting for a forge. Iron ore was found in the hills, timber could be burned to create charcoal to fuel the fires, and the river was a source of unending power for the large hammer. 1841 the first post office is located inside the mill. “Pigeon Forge” was born, named by Love after the passenger pigeons that would roost in the trees along the river during their southern migration and his father’s iron forge.
1859 John Sevier Trotter becomes the second owner of the mill and iron forge and adds a saw mill to his operation. 1861 The Civil War begins. Tennessee is the last state to secede from the Union. East Tennessee, in particular, was split between the Union and Confederacy. The mill owner, John Trotter, was a Unionist, and on the second floor of his mill, he sets up secret knitting looms to produce clothing for Union soldiers. There was also a makeshift hospital on the third floor. 1921 the mill begins producing electricity for the community. Not until 1933 did electricity flow to Pigeon Forge from the city of Sevierville. 1940 President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Newfound Gap, the mountain pass located in the center of the park and the name of the road that runs through the park today in both Tennessee and North Carolina. Tourism really starts to take off for the Great Smoky Mountains.
1952 Tourism begins to flourish in Pigeon Forge, the city widens the parkway to make way for more automobile traffic.
1961 Pigeon Forge incorporates as a municipality.
On June 10, 1975 the Old Mill is recognized for its importance to the community and its place in American history by being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1977 Only after 147 years of use, the Old Mill’s original grinding stones need replacing. They certainly were a good purchase back in 1830!
1995 The Stouts decide to retire and offers to sell The Old Mill to the Blantons & Frizzells. The Cornflour Restaurant name is changed to the Old Mill Restaurant.
MUSIC:
Savfk – Short but Strong!
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Savfk – A Thousand Hollow Words
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Savfk – The Messenger
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Savfk – Cousin Ben
Original music by Savfk (www.youtube.com/savfkmusic www.facebook.com/savfkmusic)
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