I will be the first to tell you I am a little off kilter when it comes to what I consider fun. This place is weird. I know it’s weird. It’s also pretty freakin’ amazing! In a kitschy little log cabin style building off the side of the road in Gatlinburg you’ll find The Museum of Salt and Pepper Shakers. I have been eye balling this place for years, and it did not disappoint.
I will start by saying it was not how I imagined it. In the umpteenth times I have passed this placed I pictured the salt and pepper shakers on open retail store shelving. I figured it would likely be a bull in a china shop situation for my family. I assumed it would just be a quirky little to do I could check off my list, but nothing really special. I was SO wrong!
You know what they say about assuming. It makes an ass out of you and me! That saying couldn’t have been more true than when I walked into the most beautifully organized collection I have ever seen. Over 20,000 salt and pepper shakers are safely illuminated behind glass. I could allow Hurricane Wright to enter without fear! Did I mention it’s dog friendly?
I have decided to only share my two favorite salt and pepper shakers on this blog. The molly moocher (or morel mushroom if you’re fancy) shakers secured my number one spot. Nothing speaks to the heart of an Appalachian quite like a molly moocher! Second was the butterfly shakers signed by the queen herself, Dolly Parton! I easily took a hundred pictures of shakers that caught my eye. I won’t post them because I want you to go find your favorite set yourself!
Is the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum for you?
If you love oddities, antiques, and doing something a little different you will love it here! Seeing by gone times in the form of salt and pepper shakers is truly a sight to behold. The best part? Admission is only three dollars and children under twelve are free! Yes, you read that right. One of the world’s most unique attractions right smack dab in the middle of the Smokies for ONLY three dollars. Take ya kids, take ya dogs, and stay weird!