When The Old Mill opened in 1830, it became the newest addition to the thriving Appalachian community of Pigeon Forge. Local resident William Love built the mill near the iron forge operated by his father, Isaac, and its location in the town center allowed farmers to have their corn and wheat milled only a few miles from home. While grain was being ground, farm families caught up on news, shopped, handled business matters, and sometimes swam in the mill pond. By 1849, John Sevier Trotter had bought the mill and forge, and he and his son William ran both operations, while William also served as the town postmaster. Even during the Civil War, Pigeon Forge and Sevier County continued to grow and prosper as businesses gathered around the mill, including farm-supply stores, general merchandise stores, a blacksmith shop, and a water-powered sawmill that replaced the obsolete iron forge, while a coffin-making shop served the needs of a maturing population. For most nineteenth-century residents, rough and isolated frontier life in this part of Appalachia gradually changed into a more comfortable and connected small-town world, and The Old Mill remained the center of community life, with public notices, handbills, items for sale, and during the Civil War casualty lists posted on its door.