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The forge included a bloomery furnace which converted the ore into pig iron, and a 500-pound (230 kg) trip hammer that molded the pig iron into bar iron. Love mined brown hematite ore in the hills northeast of the forge, and transported the ore to the forge using ox-drawn wagons. Taking advantage of a Tennessee state law that allowed tax incentives for the creation of iron works on unfarmable land, Love acquired over 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) of the surrounding country. In 1817, Lewis's son-in-law, Isaac Love, built the iron forge for which the city would eventually be named. Before his death, Lewis may have erected a tub mill along the river (no longer standing). The Pigeon Forge Mill is located on land that was originally part of a 151-acre (61 ha) plot of land granted in 1810 to Mordecai Lewis (1751–1817), a Revolutionary War veteran from Virginia. After the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park a few miles to the south in 1934, Pigeon Forge gradually evolved into a tourist boom town, and the mill became a popular stop for passing tourists.
OLD MILL PIGEON FORGE GENERATOR
In the early 1900s, a generator was installed at the mill which provided electricity to the area until 1930. Civil War (1861–1865), the mill powered several looms which produced cloth for the military. The mill was initially used to grind grain- mainly corn, wheat, and oats- for local farmers. Now a souvenir shop and restaurant, the Pigeon Forge Mill was once part of a small industrial complex established by local businessman Isaac Love (1783–1854) that included the iron forge for which the city was named. The mill is the only structure in Pigeon Forge listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Located along the West Fork of the Little Pigeon River, the mill complex currently consists of a millhouse, breastshot wheel, and milldam, all of which are operative. The Pigeon Forge Mill, commonly called the Old Mill, is a historic gristmill in the U.S.