Sevierville

Sevierville’s proximity to the rivers left it vulnerable to destructive flooding from its founding until the late 1960s, with major floods recorded in 1867 at 16.5 stage feet, in 1875 at 18 feet, in 1896 at 16.8 feet, in 1920 at 16 feet, in 1928 at 15.4 feet, in 1957 when both prongs of the Little Pigeon River overflowed, and in 1965, after a series of floods over two weeks in 1963 left Sevierville a Federal Disaster Area. In March 1963, a flood measuring 14.7 feet caused extensive damage to downtown businesses and residences, and a second flood the following week crested a foot higher, with water reaching the tops of parking meters on Court Avenue and drawing national news coverage. These 1963 floods led the Tennessee Valley Authority to implement protective measures, and by 1967 the West Prong had been rechanneled out of harm’s way; no serious floods have occurred since, and the town has grown extensively. Sevierville also suffered disastrous fires, including an 1856 blaze that destroyed the new courthouse, 41 houses, and several downtown businesses and erased valuable county records of early settlers, a 1900 fire that consumed much of downtown and pushed businesses toward the commercial district around the courthouse built in 1896, and the 1980 Temple Milling Company fire, when 105 men with twelve trucks fought the flames and saved the historic courthouse by continually spraying water on its roof.

Sevierville, Tennessee · United States