Once, several decades ago, Pikeville was a thriving small town in Eastern Tennessee. Located at the crossroads of many well-travelled routes through the South, it offered business opportunities as well as social. Unfortunately, along with a couple thousand other small towns across the nation, the decades have not been kind to Pikeville. With the advent of interstates and other cities growing, pulling commerce away, Pikeville withered.
Anyone who has ever travelled to Pikeville, located on the Cumberland Plateau, can attest that there are few more beautiful places in the country. At the foothills of the Great Smokey Mountains, ridges and valleys pepper the view as far as the eye can see. Running through the panorama is the Falling Water River, creating hundreds of waterfalls, like the nearby Fall Creek Falls, the tallest waterfall in the state. Fall Creek Falls is located in the Fall Creek Falls State Park which is only a few miles from historic downtown Pikeville. Recently, the city had the extreme honor of being chosen as one of twelve small towns to be part of the “Tennessee Downtowns” project, aimed at revitalizing historically significant downtowns in Tennessee. Though a long process that will take years to complete, the program brings much needed revitalization to Pikeville. .
As residents already know, Pikeville is a magnificent town with lots to offer both residents and tourists. Its location, just north of Chattanooga, is still a convenient crossroads for travelers. Already residents of Pikeville have begun the beautification of their city by replacing streets and sidewalks, planting new trees and flowers along the streets, and making storefronts more attractive. If visiting Fall Creek Falls, one should definitely drop by Historic Downtown Pikeville to admire its splendor and attractions that will remind anyone of small towns long ago.
