09/15/2025
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Monday's Memory...a look back at historical Pigeon Forge
Recently, a library friend (thanks Amy Rogers Ridge Roach!!) mentioned that they were researching the passenger pigeon - the namesake of Pigeon Forge. The forge of "Pigeon Forge" is pretty well known with the history of the Old Mill and all its incarnations over the years providing forged products, grinding grains and generating electricity - but the pigeon part of the city's namesake is not as talked about.
At one point, this pigeon was the most numerous bird in North America in the 18th century - so numerous it was said a flock could "darken the sky" and was made up of 3-5 BILLION individual birds. It was a migratory bird that in the summer months lived in the Great Lakes area and then wintered in Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina into Texas, the Gulf Coast and northern Florida. The passenger pigeon could weigh up to a pound so strong trees like beeches and oaks were preferred nest building locations. It was bigger in general than the pigeons typically seen today with red eyes, feet and a black bill. There was some coloration difference between the males and females as with many animal species.
The lifespan of a passenger pigeon in the wild is unknown but the last known passenger pigeon was in captivity (named for George Washington's wife Martha) - and lived to be from 17-29 years old. Martha passed away in the Cincinnati Zoo on September 1, 1914. The deterioration of and finally the total extinction of the massive passenger pigeon colonies (called cities) was solely due to man's interference. They were hunted excessively and unrelentingly with guns and nets for food and sport. One record listed 50,000 passenger pigeons being sold at a Boston market in 1771. Their extinction occurred in only 40 years due to over hunting and habitat destruction. (McClungmuseum.utk.edu photo and BiologicalDiversity.org)
Their relationship to Pigeon Forge was their preference for roosting in the area of the Old Mill on River Road and being so numerous that they broke branches and stripped bark off the beech trees. The Cherokee named the Little Pigeon River after the abundant birds which settlers then borrowed to name the city. At least in this way, the bird continues to live on . With the reintroduction of other species that became extinct in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park such as the red wolf, peregrine falcon, river otter and elk, would the passenger pigeon be a good addition to bring back home?
