mountain view
Area Information

- Townsend -

The Peaceful Side of the Smokies

Just a few miles from Wears Valley and adjacent to Cades Cove and Little River Road is the quiet village of Townsend, TN. Known as “the Peaceful Side of the Smokies,” this area moves at a slower, quieter pace and has an abundance of craft shops, unique restaurants, accommodations, and seasonal festivals.

Townsend Area HistoryBefore the 1900s, this area of the Little River Valley was called Tuckaleechee Cove, a name given to the region by the Cherokees that means “peaceful valley.” New settlers to the area began arriving in the late 1700s. For more than a century after these first settlements, it remained a “peaceful valley,” with subsistence farming as the primary livelihood of the inhabitants. Then, for a short period of less than 40 years, this region became a beehive of commercial lumbering activity. Wilson B. Townsend and a group of fellow Pennsylvanians formed the Little River Lumber Company in 1900. In order to log the terrain, they established the Little River Railroad. They gave the name Townsend to the village where the railroad and lumber company were located.

Cades Cove Loop Road
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