Thirty-five years ago today, on July 16, 1986, Dolly Parton opened her theme park, Dollywood, in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
Dollywood began as Rebel Railroad, a small tourist attraction, in the early 1960s. The Civil War-themed attraction morphed into Goldrush Junction, then Goldrush, as it changed owners, before becoming the popular Silver Dollar City Tennessee in 1977. In 1986, Parton bought into the theme park, in an attempt to increase employment for her family and fellow East Tennessee natives.
“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 in 2010. “Sure enough, I was lucky, and God was good to me, and things happened good.
Country Music Memories: Dollywood Opens in Pigeon Forge, Tenn
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Country Music Memories: Dollywood Opens in Pigeon Forge, Tenn
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Joanne Linville, Actress Known for Her Appearances in Star Trek and Twilight Zone, Dies at 93
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