Sevierville

Sevierville. Bruce Street. Bruce Street is one of three prominent streets in Sevierville's historic commercial district. It was named in honor of Bruce McMahan who lived in a house built by his grandfather, James Wellington McMahan, benefactor of the original 25 acres for the town of Sevierville. The McMahan home was relocated after the street opened., Bruce Street was an extension of the commercial district after the Knoxville, Sevierville and Eastern Railway laid tracks bisecting the street in 1916. The street was originally a mixture of frame dwellings and businesses. By the 1950s, Bruce Street consisted entirely of commercial buildings, illustrating the most vibrant commerce period in Sevierville's past., Temple Milling Company was located on the south side of Bruce Street facing the courthouse. Built as Walker Milling Company in the early 1900s and later owned by Stanley McMahan, John Temple acquired the mill in 1934 and his family operated the business until it was destroyed by fire in 1980., The building located on the southeast corner of Court Avenue and Bruce Street was built in 1920. The first business to occupy the building was the Purity Drug Company. In 1923, the First National Bank of Sevierville occupied the space, unfortunately the bank did not survive the Great Depression. The building would house several other businesses and offices before Attorney W. Henry Ogle purchased the property in 1977, renaming it the Ogle Building., The Sevierville Post Office was completed in 1940. The building is identical to dozens of other WPA-funded post offices constructed throughout the nation as a part of the “New Deal.” Today it houses the Sevier County Heritage Museum., Cultural connections to Sevierville's county music legend, Dolly Parton, include the building at 139 Bruce Street, once a pharmacy operated by Bill Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick's soda fountain was a hangout for high school students including Parton. She has frequently spoken of her love for Kilpatrick's “slaw dogs.” Another favorite establishment of Dolly Parton was Red's Café, located in the concrete block building at 162 Bruce Street. This was the first of two locations for Red's Café. Parton loved the café so much that she had a replica of it erected at her theme park, Dollywood., Captions , [Left, top] Bruce Street 1920 , [Left, bottom] Temple Milling Company , [Right, top] Post office built by WPA in 1940 , [Right, bottom] Christmas parade on Bruce St. 1980