by Tesa Nauman© 2007, All Rights Reserved

Wears Valley is a scenic section of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, situated at the northern border of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The original name of Wears Valley was Crowson Valley, named after its original settler Aaron Crowson. While we know that Wears Valley got its name from Samuel Wear, a Revolutionary War veteran who built a fort near the entrance of what today is Pigeon Forge, we don’t know why the valley’s name was changed.

Perhaps the first wave of tourism in the Valley flowed from a mountain spring named Line Spring in the 1880s. The spring was named for the farmer on whose grounds the spring was located. Around that time, mountain springs were thought to contain healing properties because of the minerals that were within them, and health resort spas often sprang up around mineral-rich springs. D.B. Lawson bought Line Farm and in 1910 built the Line Spring Hotel. The hotel not only brought in tourists but also boosted the local economy by providing a market for farmers in the area.

Improvements made to U.S. Hwy. 321 in the 1950s sparked modern-day tourism to Wears Valley. Today, visitors come to Wears Valley for fishing, hiking, biking, swimming and shopping. It also offers various stores featuring arts and crafts, galleries and antiques.

Because of its central location, visitors also can go shopping and take in the attractions in nearby downtown Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg as well as visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and scenic Townsend, Tennessee.

Wildlife lovers love the valley because of its proximity to GSMNP, which boasts the largest black bear populations in North America, as well as being home to wild turkeys, fox, elk, white-tailed deer and wild boar, to name a few.

Jim Watson is Owner of Timbercreek Cabins offering rental cabins in Wears Valley, TN. Wears Valley cabins are now available. Visit our rental cabins page today for a complete listing of cabin rentals. Visit our website for the original article - Wears Valley, Tennessee Vacation.