The 19th Century – Like all Appalachian communities, religion played a major role in the early history of Pigeon Forge. In the early 19th century, circuit riders were preaching in the valley, creating a large Methodist following that remains to the present day. On October 20, 1808, Bishop Francis Asbury delivered a sermon at what is now Shiloh Memorial Cemetery in the northern half of Pigeon Forge, where a crude log church had been erected. Among the first “tourists” to visit Pigeon Forge came for the extended revivals that were held in the Middle Creek area (on the grounds of what is now Middle Creek Methodist Church) as early as 1822. These revivals could last for weeks at a time.
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Shiloh Cemetery, Pigeon Forge, TN
