My family would go all the time. My father said he remembered when Gatlinburg was a dirt road when he was a young man

We really enjoyed this video, thank you for creating a perfect then and now. My Husband has been coming down every year from Hillsboro OH for 54 years. I've had the pleasure for 30 years.

We started going as a family in my teens in the 70's. I remember my dad coming back after his first trip saying the waitress in Pigeon Forge brought out biscuits and said "there ain't no jelly". He laughed about that until he died. I remember a futuristic moon house up about where the sky lift is now. It was really big like a mushroom and had rooms. Pigeon Forge and Sevierville were just pass thru's.

I wonder what the people of Gatlinburg in the 30's would think about the changes to their mountain home today? We often talk about all the changes we have witnessed in the 40 years we have visited. But the crazy thing is - no matter the changes - you can still feel the spirit of the Smokies and the people. This spirit is what makes us all want to return. I love the old pictures.

I love those old Christmas decorations on the light poles. I remember all the grocery stores used to have those in their lots

I remember the Lazy Susan style breakfasts at The Burning Bush at the entrance to the park, Rebels Corner before it burned down and being mesmerized by the water spigot in the air pouring water into a barrel in front of Ripley's Believe It or Not where the floating ball is now. My wife and I bought a timeshare week at Gatlinburg Town Square before it was built. Love Gatlinburg!

Enjoyed the trip back in time. my first visit was in the late 50s as a little boy. Thanks

Great video's I've been going there all my life does anyone remember when you could feed the bears with blue ribbons in their ears. Love precious memories. ❤👍👍👍

I love the old film!!

No that was very cool to see the past and the present thanks for taking the time to do this

The history is wonderful. What a rare gem you found to share. Thank you.

I love this ❤️I love history that’s why I love Cades Cove so much. Thank y’all again as I said before y’all Rock❤️🇺🇸❤️

We always stayed at McKay’s when I was a kid back in the 70s. It was across from Rebel’s Corner, more or less. My parents always took me and brother there for vacation. I’m bring them up at the end of October (2023) to see the leaves.

nice job my friend been going here since i was a kid now 50 years old still love the place

Wow! Loved seeing the early shots verses today...So much more traffic! Thank you for sharing this footage!

Thank you so much for this video! It's so great to see the great ol days

Wow!! What flashbacks this brought!! Thanks so very much for doing this!! Way cool! So much I remember. Great job!!

This was well done and very informative! I first visited Gatlinburg as a teenager in 1972. I had a picture of me riding the Skylift and it was a one seater lift. I love how over the years they have beautified the town with all of the flowers! Adding the benches was a nice touch too. I don't have any memories of the stores and shops but we always walked the strip and enjoyed looking in the stores and shop. We usually spend more time in the national park and in Pigeon Forge than in Gatlinburg.

Awesome job! We enjoyed that video a lot. My husband and I were just discussing the changes over time, not just in Gatlinburg but even in our lil hometown. We live in eastern KY.

I lived right behind the tower with some of my high school friends for a while. It was defining.

I've been coming since '95 and boy things have changed so much this is very interesting , great job y'all hope you and your girls are doing good, God Bless

Love Gatlinburg and find the history very interesting..enjoyed the video.thanks for sharing

Never grow tired of the Smokies🥰Been coming since the 60’s. So much has changed-I miss the slower paced Smokies, but appreciate and enjoy the modern day conveniences and opportunities. I hate that Christus Gardens has closed and miss the day that most all stores offered crafts and art created by local people vs mass produced items shipped in. I’ve collected postcards from the area, taken “back in the day”, and would be happy to send shots of some of those should you decide to do a similar video; which, would be great!!! Thanks again! Y’all do such a great job😊

So many memories! My parents honeymooned there in 1985. I honeymooned there in 2012, and had a big 30th birthday bash in 2019 as well ❤

That was one awesome video thanks for sharing…. Been going there since the 60s my mom and dad was born and raised in that area…. So much has changed since I was a kid and we went there Gatlinburg and pigeon Forge.. LOVED the VIDEO

Excellent video !!! I love seeing what it "used to be". Similar videos for Pigeon Forge and Sevierville would be fun too. Thanks for making this happen.

In the 1960s there was an amusement park toward the National park end with a rocket to the moon ride and cages that you got into and started swinging until you finally went over the top of the center pivot bar. There was popular place called “The Rock Shop” that featured natural jewelry, rocks, minerals and crystals. I remember the Greystone Lodge with the huge front yard long before the aquarium. The round building at the 321 junction was Polly Bergen’s Dress Shop. At the end of the strip around the big curve was a trout farm where you could pay to fish for the trout in the pond.

Thanks for the trip through time.😉💖

My parents started taking us back in the 60’s. I remember that pigeon forge was a two lane road There were more local things in the stores and no foreign run/owned junk tee shirt shops.

Very good video, old and new 👌, I enjoy it, love to have some of the old cars 🚗 today

Well done! Love that you did the research and shared. Area has changed so much, even the past 10 or 15 years. Sure wish some things could stay the same.

Great video. I love the historic footage combined with present day comparisons.

Thanks for doing the work that went into this. Well done, now I know where the location is on the old photos I've seen in the past. Big thank you!!

my family would visit the Smokey Mountains every summer in the 90s and 2000s, and it really didn't look too much different than the first 80's video you showed. by the late 2000s enough new attractions had come to replace many of the old ones. love seeing old footage from this era though!

Wow that was great. I remember going to Gatlinburg in the seventies with my family. Now I'm taking my family. Thanks and God bless.

This was fantastic well done sledgehammered that like button stay safe awesome and blessed

I just have to give y'all kudos on your dedication to Mike. He was a wealth of information. I am watching your channel from Dublin Ireland. It was great to see Eric shake hands with Will on Halloween. I am from U.S. If I move home, it will be to Appalachia. Thanks. Bless.❤🇮🇪🍀

Wow. I’m in Gatlinburg on an internship right now and I wondered how it because such a tourist area and why it was. This video is great!

Great job SMF! Thanks for sharing!

This was awesome

Very cool

Great job on the past and present video! Keep up the good work!

Awesome video. I appreciate the hard work you put into this. Very good and more informative than anything else I’ve seen on the history of Gatlinburg. We visit a couple of time every year and I often wondered how it all looked long ago.

Hi Eric and Britanny... What an amazing vid. Luv'd the old and the new Thank you so much for sharing Have a fun day Surie

Grew up outside of Knoxville in the 80’s and was in Gatlinburg all the time. You might be too young to remember when Gatlinburg had Xanadu, Home of the Future on the park end of the strip. I remember taking a tour of the house a couple of times and it’s something I still remember to this day. Great job SMF!

I remember the wax museum it was cool they had famous people like Abraham Lincoln , Neil Armstrong, the Alamo seen with Davey Crockett and Jim Bowie, also the best western next to Graystone

My first remembrance of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg was in the late 80's early 90's. Great job I absolutely love history and this one was a grand slam! Thanks for sharing 🙏

Awesome video, we have been going here since we were little and this is really neat to see the past vs the present.

Awesome footage, you guys did a great job!!!

Here is a chronological list of when we stayed (when we had a digital camera) and also when we first went there together: 1988 - October - Remember a lot less people and a lot of different businesses then as well. Stayed in a cabin with the Tram passing over. 1989 - July - Open Hearth Restaurant, All the Gatlinburg Wedding Chapels (we got married at the on on Reagan Drive - gone now). Stayed in a cabin in Cobbly Nob (still there but made larger). 2006 - October - Stayed at the Park Vista, more people but not as busy as it is now. 2007 - April - Could park behind the area behind Pancake Pantry, Easter Weekend and it snowed. 2008 - December - Stayed in Pigeon Forge area near where the Island is now. 2009 - July - Just remember bears in Cades Cove 2013 - July - Stayed in a condo overlooking town, gone now. Hard Rock Cafe was there where Ole Red is. Also remember where Anakeesta is now. 2021 - September - A lot has changed since we have been there last. We will see what changes occur when we return next year.

I loved seeing the old Gatlinburg videos! Thank you!

Great video! I’ve been going there since the early 80’s, my mom & dad have been going there since the early 70’s. They can remember some of it. We all loved this video. Thanks again for the memories.

Remember the Rebel corner, Christian Museum, and two seat skylift. My first visit was probably in the early 60s.

WOW. Loved it! such a humble history. this past week was my 2 time visiting Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg and i gotta say i cant wait to go back next year and do more things. Beautiful views walking down the main street and seeing the mountains and the buildings in the mountains. You will be in AWWWeeee

Thank you for a great video. Hoping you will have the footage to do a few more like this!

Loved this video.Started going there in the 60's,so much has changed,some good and some bad.We would stay at Whaley's right next to the Gatlinburg Inn.My mom loved sitting in the yard watching people.Loved Rebel Corner gift shop,we ate the Pancake pantry,Lums, and many other places.Went there almost every summer from Indiana and then i got marred in 72 and never made it back till about 78 and we stayed at the Midtown lodge,really nice place closed to the sky lift.Both motels are gone now,which is a shame because they great location on the strip.You did a great job with this video,and enjoy your family videos,

Neat video. Everything has change in my days for sure. Stay safe

You did an amazing job on this. Has been interesting watching things change over the years. This really brings it home.

Thanks for sharing. Very interesting to see the changes there. This area holds my heart. I love almost everything about it and enjoy learning about and seeing the history of it all.

Hey guys! Really like your videos! Family and in-laws are coming up the week of Thanksgiving!! Can't wait!

👍 job family enjoyed

As a local it really tickled me to hear you mention "that BMW that's always there" hahaha

Great video. Graystone was actually Howard Johnson’s for a while. Also in the 80’s clip you can see the old Baptist church across from Mountain Mall. Polly Bergen was at the corner of 321.

Great job on the video.

My first vivid memory of Downtown was the taffy shops that would blow the wonderful aromas onto the streets. Great video! The footage was amazing! 💕

From, Lexington, But now live in Northern Kentucky, Yes I moved in the wrong Direction. Been going to the Smokeys for over 30 years. I was there 2 weeks ago, Sure miss Pre Covic Days, I didn't even attempt to go In Pigeon Forge/ Gatlinburg. Stayed out 321, Ate Dinner, Crystal Creek, Greenbrier!!! Did some hiking back in Greenbrier. When I seen the 80s video, Made me remember what I thought was crowded 😅 ,Really wasn't.

Great video guys! Love Gatlinburg and seeing its history.

Wife an I r going beginning of April, the last time I was there was a kid 10 yrs old about 1988, we left my little sister on the mountain,(Ober Gatlinburg ) it was the last cart of the night we were a big group family reunion . My mom was so scared ,She blamed Dad lol my old sister and I were like one gone who's next ? Lmao . Can't wait to see how much it has changed, to be honest I don't remember to much of it 🤔 thanks for the video of the past and future pretty cool

I visited Gatlinburg back in the late 80's, and to see it now saddens me. It has gotten so much more commercialized since then. I learned to my dismay that Christus Gardens was demolished for condos, what a crying shame, it's like God was kicked out of Gatlinburg for money. Well done video, thanks.

I love this !! I'm a history lover , I've been reading about the history of Gatlinburg , Pigeon Forge area..and the families living in the smokies before the park was established. Great Vlog 👍 ❤🙌👏

Awesome video, loved it!!

The movie A Walk In The Spring Rain was filmed in Gatlinburg. Anthony Quinn and Ingrid Bergman were the stars. They wanted to stay in The Gatlinburg Inn but Mrs. Maples told them no.

A very interesting view from then and now. The past simple time seems very relaxing but both views was great. Enjoyed this video very much. Like to see more like this.

That was fun! I recall when Gatlinburg Brewery- by light 3- was Godiva's. A real girly shop. It was neat!

Red chevy truck oncoming at 2 minutes 38 is a 88 at least! 87 was the old square body! I just noticed and trying to help date that really cool video!

Great video so fun to look at the older shots ! You guys are doing a great job with your channel.

Loved this! Very Awesome! You put a lot of work in for this one.

I live in Seymore in the 60s and 70s I remember that Pigeon Forge was very empty only a few places and Gatlinburg was so easy to find parking and alot of places but not like today W went to places like the skylift and if I remember right it was 2 seater last time I went the places I knew then are gone and so much added my granddaughter and I went few years back and they were building The bigneedle thing and a big silver ball in Pigeon Forge I didn't know what it was the traffic through Gatlinburg was nothing in the 60s as it is today We loved the mountain most(still do) we hiked alot, would go rafting and swimming alot in Mountains specially at the Y and loved The loop hiking to the old cabins We were once photographed in Cades Cove for Look Magazine We went every Weekend as long as roads were opened Ive been to top of Mountain in June and played in Snow with shorts on So much fun

Enjoy your video’s. Keep up the great work and content!

Think the newest car i seen was a 88 89ish grand prix! Also a chevy truck about the same year! Grand prix pontiac was at the start of the video and the car behind was filming! Its white 2 door!

I really enjoyed this! What a neat idea...:)

Many years ago we bought a wood carving in the craft area by a Randy Wiley. I seen a sign that said Wiley's in your clip.

Y'all did a great job. We been coming up since early 2000s . Pigeon Forge has changed so much.

That BMW has been there forever

Always thought Mountainview Hotel was a great place to stay. Also had LOTS of fun years ago at the German restaurant in Ober Gatlinburg (because of the area it was in, dry county maybe, we had to buy a license to drink alcohol at the restaurant).

Last time I was in Gatlinburg I was actually staying in Waland which must be 45 miles away. I had dental work done before going to Waland to stay in my Aunt's family cabin and a tooth ache developed. Called my dentist and he said use hydrogen peroxide to clean my mouth, I I went to the Townsend IGA and found out that there was no hydrogen peroxide because the Sheriff had confiscated it all to keep the meth makers from using it. At that point it might have been easier to go to the Maryville Walgreens but I ended up driving to Gatlinburg and to that first drug store where I was able to find it. Having family in Maryville, I used to go there enough during the years to call it second home and we would take trips into the mountains or go to Gatlinburg, one of the other because you can't do both the same day and really enjoy yourself. I remember the simple places which I still love a lot more than the pancake houses, one of which would seat 500, and the old attractions like the wax museum of American history (Im still a history hound!) and the Art and craft school plus cabin, and the Cliff Dwellers. One really cracked me up even at 11 years. It was called HELL and used cast off Shell gasoline station signs, and advertised for miles before you got to the park via Townsend. One of the big draws it listed was "See the invisible hand," I did not see the Pioneer Inn Restaurant which was there in the 50s and still there at least through about '90. It had a section in the back which was built so that you could look out the window down into the river, watch fish and ducks and see the cool little house that was built on the other side of the river and the occupant had to walk across a personal bridge to get to the house. I have photos of my bride looking very happy in that restaurant, we took a road trip through the mountains for our honeymoon, driving by interstate into West Virginia and then working our way down along the Blue Ridge Parkway, then over the Smokies to get to Maryville so I could introduce her to my Maryville family. All stoid Scots, they were amazed at how much fun an Italian brings to life!

We just saw you outside Anaskesta

i remember a putt putt golf that had rabbits running fre on coutsr one year then the following year it was gone

good video at 11:27 you mention anakeesta sky lift isnt anakeesta on the other side

We use to stay at that Quality Inn on the strip when I was a kid. Later turned into Smokey Mountain Lodge. Was back this weekend (last time was 2019) and I noticed the hotel is gone. What happened?

Think i may have heard ogles general store burned! Is that maybe when it was built back as the mall if that was correct?

phillips 66 ... rebel corner i remeber that ... look at them white socks lol

I went to school at pi beta phi