Sitting next to a parking garage downtown Gatlinburg, surrounded by shops, restaurants, and attractions, sits a small log cabin that tells a very big story. The Martha Jane Ogle cabin is one of the most important landmarks in our city. For many visitors, it is a quiet reminder that long before Gatlinburg became a busy mountain town, it was a place of courage, family, and survival.
The cabin was built in 1807 by Martha Jane Huskey Ogle and her children. After her husband, William, passed away before they could settle here together, she carried on with his dream. She and her family left South Carolina and made the long journey to the Smoky Mountains. They brought William’s cut logs with them and built the cabin he had planned. What you see today in downtown Gatlinburg is a piece of that very first homestead.
It is easy to walk past the cabin without realizing how special it is. The logs are weathered. The roof is simple. There is nothing fancy about it at all. Yet in those rough-hewn walls is the beginning of Gatlinburg. Martha Jane and her family became the area’s first permanent settlers. From that little cabin grew the community that so many of us love today.
Visitors often stop to peek inside and imagine what life must have been like in the early 1800s. There was no electricity. No paved roads. No restaurants or hotels. Just a family, the mountains, and a lot of hard work. It is a humbling thought.
What makes the story even more powerful is Martha Jane herself. She was a widow traveling with her children to a wild, unknown land. Her husband’s dream became hers, and she had the strength to see it through. The cabin isn’t just wood and nails. It is a monument to determination, faith, and the spirit of the Smokies.
The cabin sits right on the Parkway in downtown Gatlinburg, near traffic lights 3 and 5. It is free to visit, and you can walk right up to it any time of day. It is not a long stop, but it is one that stays with you. A quick visit connects you to the roots of the Smoky Mountains in a way that no modern attraction can.
If you’re planning a trip to Gatlinburg, take a few minutes to step back in time. After all, the best way to understand a place is to know where it started.
And when your day of exploring is done, Edgewater Hotel is just a short walk away. From the cabin you can head down the Parkway, enjoy the shops, then cross the little bridge over the river right to our front door. We’re proud to welcome guests to the same mountains that Martha Jane Ogle once called home.
Book your room today and make your own piece of Smoky Mountain history.
