Wear's Fort

Wear’s Fort was a Revolutionary War–era settler’s fort built in 1783 by Colonel Samuel Wear to protect early settlers from Native American raids, located near present‑day Pigeon Forge. Colonel Samuel Wear (1753–1817) was a Patriot who fought in the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780, served in the Indian Wars, and later in the War of 1812. He was also the first county court clerk of Sevier County under the State of Franklin and later served in Tennessee's territorial and state governments. The fort was part of a network of about a dozen forts built in Sevier County in the 1780s. The fort's location is identified as behind the Pigeon Forge Community Center.