Perry's Camp

	Perry's Camp
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Water wheel and house of Perry's Camp
Location	101 Flat Branch Rd, Sevierville, TN
Nearest city	Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg
Coordinates	35°43′31″N83°31′40″W / 35.72528°N 83.52778°W Coordinates: 35°43′31″N83°31′40″W / 35.72528°N 83.52778°W
Built	1928 [1]
NRHP reference No.	92000369
Added to NRHP	October 30, 1992 [1]

Last updated October 16, 2020

Perry's Camp, now known as Flat Branch Cottages, was founded c. 1928 when Charlie Perry developed the site where Flat Branch joins the Little Pigeon River as a tourist resort.^[1] Located between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, Perry's Camp was one of the first tourist courts in the area that has since become a tourist mecca. Perry's Camp preceded the founding of the adjacent Great Smoky Mountains National Park by six years. The site originally included a restaurant with living quarters upstairs and eleven cabins, including one log and stone house already on the site from the 1850s.^[2]

Location

Perry's Camp was originally located on both sides of the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River about halfway between Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge where Flat Branch joins the river. The structures closest to the river were demolished when US-441 was widened in the late 1950s.^[1] The remaining structures of Perry's Camp are now all located on the west side of the river near the base of Flat Branch road where it joins southbound US-441 adjacent to the middle bridge which spans the northbound and southbound lanes.

History

In c. 1928, Charlie Perry began developing Perry's Camp as a tourist resort, continuing to expand the site over the next twenty years. Perry was very innovative and visionary, and included many interesting artifacts in his development. A dam across the river diverted water through a powerhouse which generated electricity for the resort. A swinging bridge provided the only access to cabins on the east side of the river.^[3] A disabled moonshine still hung outside the restaurant for advertisement.^[1] A water wheel turned a fan in the dining room. A hollowed-out log covered with glass and filled with water and fish served as a bar in the restaurant. A garage dug into the side of a hill housed Perry's car.^[3] Many rock walls were constructed, including a two-level terraced rock wall and rock walls for containing a section of Flat Branch.^[1]

In 1949, Charlie Perry and his common-law wife Josie Law were brutally murdered and robbed in the restaurant of Perry's Camp as documented in the book "The Perry's Camp Murders" by R.S. Allen with Steve O. Watson, published in August, 2009.^[1]

In 1950, following the settlement of the estate, Sevierville businessman Cliff Davis purchased the property and operated it for a couple of years, converting the restaurant into a gift shop. In 1952, the property was purchased by Mack and Agnes Marshall who reopened the restaurant and continued to rent the cabins. Prompted by the ever-increasing tourist traffic to the national park, US 441 was improved and widened in the late 1950s, taking with it the restaurant building, the dam, the swinging bridge, and the six cabins nearest the river.^[1]

At that time, the wormy chestnut wood from the restaurant walls was salvaged and used for the ceiling in the log house, the ceiling fan was placed on the porch of the log house, and the water wheel was moved from behind the restaurant up the hill to its current location. The water wheel was restored c. 1955 using red-painted plywood sides and aluminum buckets, and it was restored again in October 2012 with more historically accurate white oak sides and buckets.

Perry's camp was one of the first tourist sites in East Tennessee and one of very few which has retained much of its construction originality in the four cabins and log house which still exist. As a result, Perry's Camp was entered on the National Register of Historic Places on October 30, 1992. The listing includes the terracing, rock walls, four cabins, and log house. The site is now named Flat Branch Cottages, and three of the four cabins are still rented to tourists April through October. The site has been owned and operated by the Mack Marshall family since 1952.^[1]

Related Research Articles

Sevier County ( "severe") is a county of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 89,889. Its county seat and largest city is Sevierville.

Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, United States. It is located 39 miles (63 km) southeast of Knoxville and had a population of 3,944 at the 2010 Census and an estimated U.S. Census population of 4,144 in 2018. It is a popular vacation resort, as it rests on the border of Great Smoky Mountains National Park along U.S. Route 441, which connects to Cherokee, North Carolina, on the southeast side of the national park. Prior to incorporation, the town was known as White Oak Flats, or just simply White Oak.

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee City in Tennessee, United States

Pigeon Forge is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 5,875. Situated just 5 miles (8 km) north of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Pigeon Forge is a tourist destination that caters primarily to Southern culture and country music fans. The city's attractions include Dollywood and Dollywood's Splash Country as well as numerous gift shops, outlet malls, amusement rides, and musical theaters.

The Little Pigeon River is a river located entirely within Sevier County, Tennessee. It rises from a series of streams which flow together on the dividing ridge between the states of Tennessee and North Carolina inside the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The river is subdivided with three separate tributaries: East, Middle, and West.

Little River is a 60-mile (97 km) river in Tennessee which drains a 380-square-mile (980 km²) area containing some of the most spectacular scenery in the southeastern United States. The first 18 miles (29 km) of the river are all located within the borders of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The remaining 42 miles (68 km) flow out of the mountains through Blount County to join the Tennessee River at Fort Loudon Lake in Knox County.

The Great Smoky Mountains Parkway travels 14.5 miles (23.3 km) between Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Sevierville, along U.S. Route 441 and State Route 448, in east Tennessee. It serves both, as the main thoroughfare for Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, and a 4.3-mile (6.9 km) spur of the Foothills Parkway.

The Sugarlands Valley in the north-central Great Smoky Mountains

The Sugarlands is a valley in the north-central Great Smoky Mountains, located in the Southeastern United States. Formerly home to a string of small Appalachian communities, the valley is now the location of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park headquarters and the Sugarlands Visitor Center. Lying just south of Gatlinburg, the Sugarlands is one of the park's most popular access points.

Ober Gatlinburg is an amusement park and ski area, located in the mountains overlooking Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA. Established in 1962, the area contains a large mall with indoor amusements, an indoor ice skating rink including new ice bumper cars, snack bars, a full-service lounge, restaurant, and gift and clothing stores. Outside there is an alpine slide, the ski mountain coaster, a chair swing, a maze, mini golf, a scenic chairlift to the top of Mount Harrison, kiddie rides, water raft rides and a new rock climbing wall. What was formerly known as the Black Bear Habitat where visitors could see bears close-up, recently expanded to become the Wildlife Encounter, where in addition to the black bears there are animals native to the Great Smoky Mountains such as North American river otters, bobcats, birds of prey, opossums, raccoons, turtles, snakes, and flying squirrels. An aerial tram connects Ober Gatlinburg to downtown Gatlinburg, about 3 miles to the east.

Wears Valley, Tennessee Unincorporated community in Tennessee, United States

Wears Valley is an unincorporated community in Sevier County, Tennessee, treated by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census county division. As of the 2000 Census, the population of Wears Valley was 6,486.

Roaring Fork (Great Smoky Mountains) United States historic place

Roaring Fork is a stream in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. Once the site of a small Appalachian community, today the stream's area is home to the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and the Roaring Fork Historic District.

Oconaluftee (Great Smoky Mountains) River in North Carolina, USA

Oconaluftee is a river valley in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, located in the Southeastern United States. Formerly the site of a Cherokee village and Appalachian community, the valley's bottomland is now home to the main entrance to the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

State Route 71 is a north–south state highway in Tennessee. For most of the length it is a "hidden" route, as it coincides with US 441 in all but a short section in Knoxville. The road begins at the North Carolina state line in Sevier County within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at Newfound Gap and ends at an intersection with US 25W, SR 116, and SR 9 (hidden) in Rocky Top. Along its length SR 71 passes through Sevier County, a small portion of Blount County, Knox County, Anderson County, and in and out of Campbell County.

Greenbrier (Great Smoky Mountains) Valley in Sevier County, Tennessee

Greenbrier is a valley in the northern Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, located in the Southeastern United States. Now a recreational area, Greenbrier was once home to a string of Appalachian communities.

The Sugarland Mountain Trail is an American hiking trail, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park of Sevier County, Tennessee. The trail traverses Sugarland Mountain, a massive ridge running perpendicular to the main crest of the Smokies and effectively dividing the park's north-central section from its northwestern section. Sugarland Mountain is flanked by the deep upper valleys of two of the park's major watersheds— the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River and Little River. The trail passes through several forest types, including deciduous forest at lower elevations, heaths ("hells") along the mountain's backbone formations, and a stand of Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest in the upper elevations. Occasional breaks in the foliage allow for views of Mount Le Conte and Sevier County to the east and Blanket Mountain and the ridges above Elkmont to the west.

Wear Cove is a valley in southwestern Sevier County, Tennessee. It runs parallel to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park just to its south. Like other park border regions, the history and economy of the valley are intertwined with that of the Smokies. The primary community is Wears Valley.

U.S. Route 441 stretches for 83.28 miles (134.03 km) through the mountains of East Tennessee, connecting Rocky Top with Knoxville, Sevierville, Gatlinburg, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, crossing into North Carolina at Newfound Gap. Near its northern terminus, US 441 crosses over Norris Dam and passes through Norris Dam State Park.

Noah Ogle Place United States historic place

The Noah "Bud" Ogle Place was a homestead located in the Great Smoky Mountains of Sevier County, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The homestead presently consists of a cabin, barn, and tub mill built by mountain farmer Noah "Bud" Ogle (1863–1913) in the late 19th century. In 1977, the homestead was added to the National Register of Historic Places and is currently maintained by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Pigeon Forge Mill United States historic place

The Pigeon Forge Mill, commonly called the Old Mill, is a historic gristmill in the U.S. city of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Located along the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River, the mill complex currently consists of a millhouse, breastshot wheel, and milldam, all of which are operative. The mill is the only structure in Pigeon Forge listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

State Route 449 is a 6.2-mile-long (10.0 km) north–south state highway in Sevier County, within the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It travels from US 411 overlaying Veterans Boulevard and some of Middle Creek Road in Sevierville south to US 441/US 321 (Parkway) in Pigeon Forge. It serves as a bypass around the busy tourist areas in Sevierville and Pigeon Forge.

State Route 73 is west-north state highway in East Tennessee. For most of its length, it is an unsigned companion route to U.S. Route 321.

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Allen, R.S.; Watson, Steve O. (2009). The Perry's Camp Murders. Infinity. ISBN 0-7414-5528-5.
↑ Morton, Cora Ownby (August 19, 1992). "Interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Marshall, Mack T.; Marshall, Agnes H. Gatlinburg, TN.
1 2 Whaley, Everett Charles (June 1990). "Interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Marshall, Mack T.; Marshall, Agnes H. Pigeon Forge, TN. Employee of Charlie Perry.

External links

— website for the 2009 R.S. Allen and Steve O. Watson book, "The Perry's Camp Murders"

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[book-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Allen, R.S.; Watson, Steve O. (2009). The Perry's Camp Murders. Infinity. ISBN 0-7414-5528-5.

[Morton-2] Morton, Cora Ownby (August 19, 1992). "Interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Marshall, Mack T.; Marshall, Agnes H. Gatlinburg, TN.

[Whaley-3] 1 2 Whaley, Everett Charles (June 1990). "Interview" (Interview). Interviewed by Marshall, Mack T.; Marshall, Agnes H. Pigeon Forge, TN. Employee of Charlie Perry.