Celebrating Over 90 Years of Family-Owned Heritage in Townsend, TN
Welcome to Dock’s On The River Motel & Cabins. When you stay with us, you aren’t just booking a room—you are stepping into a living piece of Smoky Mountain history.
Situated directly on the scenic banks of the Little River, our property sits where cool mountain water flows straight out of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Today, it remains the ultimate destination for good, clean family fun – whether you are spending a hot summer afternoon tubing down the river or fly fishing for native trout.
Hand-Built in 1935: The Story of “Doc’s Cabins”
Our legacy began in 1935. At just 33 years old, our pioneering grandmother, Lorene Whaley Huskey, founded the property as “Doc’s Cabins.” Lorene grew up in the historic Greenbrier area (just east of Gatlinburg, which is now protected national park land). After tragically losing her husband, Wesley, to a war-related illness, and her infant daughter, Jean, to a fever, Lorene focused her remarkable strength on raising her surviving daughter, Dean, and building a business.
Originally, the property sat across the road from what is now the Riverstone Restaurant. If you explore nearby, you can still see the original rock walls where those first cabins stood. In the 1950s, the State of Tennessee obtained a right-of-way to widen the highway, forcing Doc’s Cabins to relocate.
Lorene moved the business to our current location—then known as the “Old Sam Law Place.” At that time, the site featured a white two-story house where our riverfront cabins sit today, surrounded by a historic apple and chestnut orchard.
Rooted in Townsend’s Logging and Railroad History
During the boom of the mountain lumber industry, the old sawmill and logging train passed right in front of our grounds. In fact, directly behind our riverfront cabins, you can still catch a glimpse of the original road bed that served as the main thoroughfare through Townsend. Back then, the main road tightly hugged the river, and the railroad tracks laid right where the main highway sits today.
Our original motor court layout consisted of individual cabins (Rooms 1 & 2, 4 & 5, 7 & 8, 10 & 11, and 14). Grandma Huskey built them by hand with the help of her two brothers, Dan and Clay Whaley.
To source the lumber, a small sawmill was set up right on the property. The conductor of the Little River Railroad would stop the steam train right outside and call out, “Mrs. Huskey, how many logs do you need today?” The logs were cut, planed, brought into the cabins, and nailed up that very same day. The beautiful, rich pine paneling you see inside our motel rooms today is that exact virgin timber harvested from what is now the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Three Generations of Female Ownership
In 1975, Grandma Huskey passed the torch, selling the motel to her daughter (my mother), Dean Stinnett. In 1992, the legacy continued when my mother sold the motel to me, her daughter, Sharron Stinnett. My mother remained the heart and soul of our daily operations, working alongside me until her passing on January 5, 2017.
Our beloved founder, Grandma Huskey, passed away on April 12, 2003, just a few months shy of her 101st birthday. To honor her incredible life and enduring spirit, we have dedicated a small memorial space at the end of Room 14. “Grandma’s Garden” is still in the makings, but it is our sincere hope that with each passing season, her garden will flourish and bloom just as beautifully as she did.
We invite you to come share in our history, relax on our porches, and experience the timeless hospitality that only three generations of family ownership can provide.
~ Sharron Stinnett, Third-Generation Owner