Published August 27, 2026 01:55PM
Dolly Parton traveled the world performing for millions of people and lived a life of rhinestones and glitter—but there was nowhere she loved as deeply as the Smoky Mountains. Parton was more than a musician to so many people. Her work as a beloved country singer, humanitarian, business pioneer and storyteller brought her undeniable fame. But her heart always remained in Tennessee. From the peaks of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the rollercoasters of Dollywood, her impact on Pigeon Forge and the surrounding region changed it forever.
Dolly Parton’s Roots in the Smoky Mountains
Parton was born January 19, 1946, in a small cabin in Locust Ridge, a rural community in Sevier County. She grew up in Sevierville, and her first paid singing gig was at The Pines Theater downtown (today you can grab a beer and play duckpin bowling here). Her love of her home state always showed up in her work. Her lyrics took listeners on a journey to the Smoky Mountains in songs like “My Tennessee Mountain Home,” “Smoky Mountain Memories” and “Heartsong.”
As her career and life grew, Parton remained true to her roots. She toured across the world, but she always found her way back home. She settled down outside of Nashville later in life, and she always looked for ways to support her community. Giving back to her Smoky Mountain home was a perpetual goal of hers, according to a statement in April 2010.
“I always thought that if I made it big or got successful at what I had started out to do, that I wanted to come back to my part of the country and do something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs into this area,” Parton said, according to the Associated Press. “Sure enough, I was lucky, and God was good to me and things happened good.”
Dollywood Transformed Pigeon Forge
In September 1983, Parton announced plans to open a theme park in Sevier County that she described as a “fantasy mountain park” which became Dollywood. At the time, officials predicted the theme park would create about 300 jobs and bring in about 250,000 visitors to Pigeon Forge annually.
Dollywood officially opened May 3, 1986, and has been operating for 40 years. Today, it employs about 4,000 people during peak summer season and about 3.5 million people visited the park in 2023.
Pigeon Forge became a staple of the American road trip, luring tourists from all over the country. Nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park became the most visited in the U.S., which Dollywood’s pull surely had no small part in. The region began to grow around Parton and her vision to become what it is today.
“Of the millions of tourist tax dollars that flow into our county every year, you can bet Dolly Parton is a major force behind them,” Brenda McCroskey, CEO of the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce, told the News-Sentinel in 2013. “Even if a visitor isn’t crossing the turnstiles at Dollywood, they are still affected by Dolly. She is a legend and her name is spoken with pride by local business merchants in Sevierville, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg.”
Her impact in the Smokies didn’t stop with Dollywood and her businesses, however. In 1991, she launched the Buddy Program for seventh and eighth grade students where she promised to give them $500 if they and a buddy graduated high school together. The program significantly decreased the Sevier County Schools’ dropout rate. In 2016, she launched the “My People Fund” to give $1,000 each month to more than 900 Sevier County families who lost their homes in wildfires that spread through Eastern Tennessee. And in 2024, Parton donated $1 million to Hurricane Helene relief, which was also matched by her businesses.
Honoring Dolly Parton’s Memory in the Smokies
After her death August 25, 2026, people across the world rushed to pay tribute. The website for Dollywood crashed in the hours after the world found out the news, and millions spoke to Parton’s inspiring career and legacy of kindness and generosity—especially in the Smokies.
“Dolly Parton meant so much to Pigeon Forge, the Smoky Mountains, and generations of people around the world,” the City of Pigeon Forge said in a statement. “Her kindness, generosity, music, and love for the place she called home have left a mark that will never fade. The Smokies simply wouldn’t be the same without her.”
In her songs, Parton paints a picture of a quiet and bucolic Tennessee, full of gorgeous views and life’s simple pleasures.
“In my Tennessee mountain home, life is as peaceful as a baby’s sigh,” she wrote in ‘My Tennessee Mountain Home.’ “In my Tennessee mountain home, crickets are singing in the fields nearby.”
Next time you visit Great Smoky Mountains National Park or road trip through Pigeon Forge, think of Parton. Slow down and pay attention to the crickets chirping and the butterflies flying by. Say hello to a stranger and take part in an easy act of kindness. Don’t forget to take it all in.
“Her music, generosity, and deep connection to these mountains will always be remembered,” officials at Great Smoky Mountains National Park said in a statement. “Honoring Dolly Parton, whose spirit will forever flutter through the Smokies.”
