Our Story
THE STORY OF LOCUST RIDGE
These mountains have stories to tell.
Long before Sapphire Ridge became a place for guests to rest and reconnect, generations of mountain families called this part of East Tennessee home.
One of those families was the Parton family. Dolly Parton was born and grew up in the Locust Ridge community, one of twelve children surrounded by the mountains, music, faith and family that would later become such an important part of her story.
A TENNESSEE MOUNTAIN HOME
Dolly's childhood world was here in the mountains of East Tennessee - the woods, a crowded family home, music, church, hard work and the ordinary rhythms of rural mountain life.
Those experiences stayed with her. Her childhood in these mountains helped inspire the stories and music of My Tennessee Mountain Home and became part of the Appalachian identity she carried with her throughout her life.
FROM LOCUST RIDGE TO THE WORLD
Dolly eventually left the mountains to pursue a dream far beyond Locust Ridge, but the place where her story began remained woven through her music and the stories she told.
The mountains, the people and the traditions of East Tennessee helped shape the artist and storyteller the world came to know. And ultimately, many of those dreams found their way home again through Dollywood and the extraordinary legacy she created here in Sevier County.
It's an extraordinary story that began in a remarkably ordinary place. Right here in the mountains.
WHILE YOU'RE HERE
As you spend time at Sapphire Ridge, you are surrounded by the same Appalachian landscape that shaped generations of families who lived in these mountains.
Locust Ridge remains a living community, not a tourist attraction. Dolly Parton's original family homeplace is private and should not be located or visited.
Guests who would like to experience this part of her story can visit the Tennessee Mountain Home replica at Dollywood, along with the Dolly Parton Experience, which celebrates her journey from Locust Ridge to stages around the world.
A LITTLE HISTORY BENEATH YOUR FEET
You're staying in a place with a story.
And now, for a little while, you get to become part of it.