Visit Sevierville, TN - Dolly Parton

Sevierville is
the Hometown
of Country Music
Legend Dolly Parton

Sevierville is well known for many different things. The shopping capital of East Tennessee, Sevierville borders the most visited National Park in the United States, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and is home to theatrical productions, attractions and restaurants that run along the parkway making Sevierville a tourist mecca.urist mecca.

But Sevierville is also home to internationally known singer, songwriter, and entertainer Dolly Parton. Dolly grew up in nearby Locust Ridge; the fourth of 12 siblings. Dolly knew at a young age that she wanted to sing and entertain for a living. At the age of 6, Dolly was singing live at WIVK radio station in nearby Knoxville, Tennessee. She was also making weekly appearances at Cas Walker’s Grocery Store, which still stands today and now houses Goodwill Industries on the Parkway in Sevierville. Dolly attended Sevier County High School where she was in the band. After graduating in 1964, Dolly packed up her hopes and dreams of a career in the music business and moved to Nashville to pursue her dreams.

Dolly has written more than 3,000 songs, many of which are No. 1 hits. Dolly has 25 No. 1 country singles (55 top 10 country hits), eight Top 40 pop hits, 26 gold and platinum record awards, seven Grammy® Awards (and 44 nominations), 11 CMA Awards, two Oscar nominations (Best Song), five Golden Globe nominations (three for acting), an Emmy nomination, more than 100 million records sold, and the list goes on and on.

In 1986 Dolly wanted to do something for the folks in her Tennessee Mountain home. Partnering with Herschend Family Entertainment, Dolly opened her Dollywood family theme park in nearby Pigeon Forge, Tenn. This 130-acre park has continued to grow and add new rides, shows, restaurants, and festivals in the past 22 years. In 2001, Dolly opened Dollywood’s Splash Country to “splashing” reviews. This 30-acre park is filled with slides, a lazy river, and wavepool is open May thru September each year. Dolly also opened her Dixie Stampede Dinner Show in 1988 in Pigeon Forge, with additional venues in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Branson, MO. This friendly rivalry between the North and South features 32 magnificent horses along with ostriches, pigs and a herd of authentic Texas longhorns. Guests also are treated to a fabulous four-course feast.

In 1996, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort to benefit the children of her home county in East Tennessee. Dolly wanted to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income.

With the introduction of Dolly’s Imagination Library, she mailed a brand new, age-appropriate book each month to every child under the age of five in Sevier County. With the arrival of every child’s first book, the classic The Little Engine That Could ™, every child could experience the joy of finding their very own book in their mailbox. By the time each participating child entered kindergarten, he or she had a 60-volume library of books. The last book of the collection, Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come, prepared them for school.

Needless to say, the program has been a success. So much so that many other communities clamored to provide the Imagination Library to their children. Dolly thought long and hard about it and decided to help develop a way for other communities to participate. With Penguin Group USA as the exclusive publisher for the Imagination Library, the program is now replicated in 700 communities in 43 states as well as Canada and England.

Dolly also has been a major supporter of healthcare in Sevier County. She is the honorary chairperson of The Dr. Robert F. Thomas Foundation, named for the doctor who delivered Dolly and helped establish adequate healthcare facilities in Sevier County.

Appreciation for Dolly can be seen throughout Sevierville and Sevier County. Dolly Parton Parkway is a major thoroughfare in Sevierville and one of the most beloved statues in Sevierville is the statue of Dolly Parton on the courthouse lawn. The statue, sculpted by local artist Jim Gray and unveiled by Dolly herself on May 2, 1987, features a young Dolly barefoot strumming a guitar. Dolly proclaimed the dedication of the statue as her proudest moment in a recent CMT Special.