There's a stretch of road out past Pittman Center where the fog sits low on the ridgeline most mornings, the kind of view that doesn't photograph the way it feels. It's not far from where a little girl named Dolly Rebecca Parton grew up in a one-room cabin with more siblings than beds, dreaming out loud about a life bigger than the mountain around her. This past week, that same mountain has been full of people who came to say thank you — leaving flowers at the Dollywood gates, singing "Coat of Many Colors" under the string lights, and reminding each other that the Smokies will always be Dolly's mountains first.
Dolly Parton died on August 25, 2026, in Nashville at age 80, after what her publicist described as a brief battle with cancer. Whatever brings you to this page — whether you're planning a trip to pay your respects, wondering what happens to Dollywood now, or just looking for a reason to finally see the place she built — here's what you should know about her ties to Sevier County and how the area is honoring her.
A Sevier County Girl Who Became a Global Icon
Parton was born in 1946 in Locust Ridge, a tiny community in the Great Smoky Mountains just outside Sevierville. She graduated from Sevier County High School in 1964 and, by her own account, headed for Nashville the very next day. What followed was one of the most remarkable careers in American music: 11 Grammy Awards, more than 100 million records sold, and songs — "Jolene," "9 to 5," "I Will Always Love You" — that have outlived every trend that came and went around them.
But Parton never really left the mountains. She kept coming back, and eventually she brought the world back with her.
What Dolly Built in the Smokies
In 1986, Parton bought an interest in what was then Silver Dollar City Tennessee and renamed it Dollywood. Today the 150-acre destination in Pigeon Forge anchors an entire regional economy — the theme park itself, Dollywood's Splash Country waterpark, the DreamMore Resort and Spa, and Dolly Parton's Stampede dinner show. It's the most-visited ticketed attraction in Tennessee, and it exists because a woman from Locust Ridge decided the place that raised her deserved something to be proud of.
Inside the park, the Dolly Parton Experience — a themed area three times the size of the old Chasing Rainbows Museum it replaced — walks visitors through her life from that one-room cabin to stages around the world, including her actual tour bus and a re-creation of her childhood home. It's less a museum than a love letter, and this year it will mean something different to the people who walk through it.
How Dollywood and Sevier County Are Honoring Her
Dollywood made the decision to stay open in the days following her death, a choice park leadership said reflected Parton's own wishes — that the park remain, as she saw it, a place of laughter and shared dreams rather than a place of mourning. Guests have been gathering at the park gates to leave flowers and cards, and performers have paid tribute on stage with photos and song. LeConte Lodge, perched atop one of the park's namesake peaks, published its own tribute noting how much of the modern Smokies tourism industry — the one that now draws more than 11 million visitors a year to the national park alone — traces back to what Parton built here.
Locally, Sevier County and the cities of Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, and Gatlinburg, along with the Town of Pittman Center and the Sevier County School System, all declared an official Day of Mourning in her honor. A bell toll and moment of silence were held in Sevier County, buildings across the region have been lit pink overnight, and flags have flown at half-staff, including a nationwide order out of Washington for the week following her death.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that those who want to honor her consider a gift to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, the childhood literacy program she founded that has mailed free books to millions of children around the world.
The Push for "9 to 5 Day" on September 25
One of the more fitting tributes taking shape has nothing to do with a ribbon-cutting and everything to do with a pun Dolly herself would have appreciated. Tennessee State Senator Jessie Seal, who represents the district near Parton's birthplace, announced he'll introduce legislation to officially designate September 25 — "9/25" — as "9 to 5 Day," a nod to her hit song and film of the same name. The bill won't come up for a vote until the legislature's 2027 session begins in January, but the date is already catching on informally as a day to set aside a little time each year to play the song and reflect on her legacy.
It would be Tennessee's second Dolly-specific day on the calendar. Governor Bill Lee had already proclaimed January 19, 2026 — her 80th birthday — as Dolly Parton Day earlier this year. A few grassroots petitions have also popped up online pushing for September 25 to be recognized as a national day of tribute, though those remain citizen efforts rather than official proclamations for now. Separately, state lawmakers have revived talk of placing a statue or bust of Parton at the Tennessee State Capitol, an honor she had previously declined.
Ways to Pay Tribute if You're Planning a Visit
If you're thinking about making the trip to Sevier County in the coming weeks, a few ways people are honoring her:
- Visit Dollywood and the Dolly Parton Experience to see the exhibits on her life, career, and Appalachian roots.
- Drive through Locust Ridge and the Sevierville area where she grew up, much of which is still quiet farmland and mountain foothills.
- Donate to the Imagination Library at imaginationlibrary.com, the cause her family specifically pointed people toward.
- Take in a show or festival at Dollywood — many of the park's traditions, from its music festivals to its seasonal celebrations, were built with her direct involvement and continue on as she intended.
- Mark September 25 with the song that inspired the date — the proposed "9 to 5 Day" isn't official yet, but it's already becoming an informal way fans across the state are choosing to remember her each year.
Planning Your Own Visit to the Smokies
Whatever brings you here, Sevier County is worth the trip beyond just Dollywood — the national park entrance, downtown Gatlinburg, and the whole Pigeon Forge parkway are all part of the same story Dolly helped write. If you're coming in from out of town, the Sevierville and surrounding Smokies area has a handful of well-kept cabin options just minutes from the park and the mountains themselves. We keep a small, hand-picked portfolio of properties in the area — you're welcome to browse what we have available at smokiestays.com/cabins.
This article was compiled from public statements and reporting following Dolly Parton's passing. For official information on Dollywood and updates on tribute events, visit dollywood.com. For information on her Imagination Library, visit imaginationlibrary.com.