Gatlinburg in Sevier County, Tennessee — The American South (East South Central)

Pieces of Gatlinburg’s Past: The Cliff Dwellers

Photographed by Tom Bosse, October 18, 2025

1. Pieces of Gatlinburg’s Past: The Cliff Dwellers Marker

Inscription. This landmark building graced the Parkway (US 441) in Gatlinburg from 1933 until it was moved here in 1907. It was designed and constructed by Louis Jones, whose impressionist and realist paintings have captured the imagination of tourists and art collectors through the years.

Jones, a prolific painter, came to Gatlinburg from Woodstock, New York, and was tireless in his efforts to capture the haunting beauty and spirit of this area until his death in 1958. He was the first artist to make a living selling paintings of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Cliff Dwellers Shop was his studio, gallery, and home (he and his wife lived upstairs).

Jones donated the land above his shop for construction of Gatlinburg’s First Methodist Church. He also left an endowment that provides various scholarships as well as an annual cash award for the local high school student who writes the best essay on the beauty of the Smokies.

Artist Jim Gray acquired this structure and had it moved an reconstructed here in the Great Smokies Arts and Crafts Community. It is presently owned and operated by a group of professional artists as a

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cooperative gallery.

Captions
[Insert]: Cliff Dwellers in downtown Gatlinburg
[Insert]: Cliff Dwellers in 1941
[Insert]: Paintings by Louis Jones
[Insert]: Moving to a new location in Arts and Crafts Community
[Insert]: Cliff Dwellers at present location
[Insert]: Inside the Cliff Dwellers

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Arts, Letters, Music. A significant historical year for this entry is 1933.

Location. 35° 44.574′ N, 83° 27.447′ W. Marker is in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in Sevier County. It is on Glades Road west of Powdermill Road, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 668 Glades Road, Gatlinburg TN 37738, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Tennessee

and in the Great Smoky Mountains.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation,

Photographed by Tom Bosse, October 18, 2025

2. Pieces of Gatlinburg’s Past: The Cliff Dwellers Marker

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

the State of Franklin,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Emerts Cove Covered Bridge (approx. 2.3 miles away); Ely's Mill (approx. 2½ miles away); Emerts Cove (approx. 2.6 miles away); The Ephraim Bales Place (approx. 2.6 miles away); Tsali Monument (approx. 3½ miles away); Burnett-Thomas Garden (approx. 3.6 miles away); The American Black Bear (approx. 3.7 miles away); Wiley Oakley (approx. 3.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Gatlinburg.

Photographed by Tom Bosse, October 18, 2025

3. Pieces of Gatlinburg’s Past: The Cliff Dwellers Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on October 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 20, 2025, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 128 times since then and 88 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 20, 2025, by Tom Bosse of Jefferson City, Tennessee. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.