About Us

One of the many stories about Foxfire Mountain is how the mountain got its name. According to local lore, in the days before park rangers patrolled the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, local settlers had to protect the natural beauty of the land by regulating the growth of underbrush. Dead undergrowth that amasses over the years is a potential forest fire hazard. To prevent such calamities, settlers had controlled burns by burning off the underbrush in a confined area. Early settlers had an ingenious method to burn off the unwanted undergrowth. They would capture a fox and tie a rag to his tail which had been soaked in oil which was an expensive commodity in those early years. Settlers were thrifty in their use of oil. They would set the rag on fire and the frightened fox would run around frantically dragging the flaming rag behind him, setting the undergrowth on fire as he ran along. Eventually, he would ignite the undergrowth that needed to be burned off and the string that attached the fox to the rag would burn off. The fox would then scurry away and the settlers would tend to the burning undergrowth.

Foxfire Mountain was originally inhabited by the Cherokee. Artifacts, such as arrowheads, found in the area date back 10,000 years. The Cherokee planted corn on the mountain and hunted bear, deer, turkey, and turtles. The creation of ironworks in East Tennessee in 1809 paved the way for mining in Sevier County. Iron was discovered on Foxfire Mountain in 1820. With the help of the Cherokee, the iron was mined and the Native American workers were paid with the silver byproduct of the mining operation. The Cherokee miners usually hid their silver in the mine for safekeeping. In 1838, the Cherokee were forced to relocate to Oklahoma in what is known as "the Trail of Tears." The Cherokee were forced out of East Tennessee and Foxfire Mountain. Many never recovered the silver they had stashed in the mine. After the departure of the Cherokee, Isaac Love and his sons created a partnership with the Shields Iron Co. to continue mining at Foxfire Mountain.